Bücher der Reihe Transformations of the State

Does the democratic nation state remain a legitimate regime form in the current age of globalization? This book uses a novel, analytical approach to probe this topical question, drawing on a comparative study of legitimation discourses in the media of four Western democracies (Switzerland, Germany, Britain, and the United States.)

Examining legitimation discourse in four OECD countries (Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) between 1998 and 2011, the contributions to the volume use different text-analytical methods to bring out the ideas that underpin affirmative and critical media discourse on the capitalist regime.

The authors argue that while the market has been the major cause of increasing net inequalities, the trend towards supply orientation in most social policy fields has further contributed to social inequality.

Examining legitimation discourse in four OECD countries (Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) between 1998 and 2011, the contributions to the volume use different text-analytical methods to bring out the ideas that underpin affirmative and critical media discourse on the capitalist regime.

This book examines the extent to which international organizations have shaped reforms in education and training in federalist countries with regards to policy convergence. From a political science perspective, three major initiatives are analyzed: the OECD's PISA study, the European Bologna process and the European Union's Copenhagen process.

This book fills a significant lacuna in our understanding of the refugee crisis by analyzing the dynamics that lie behind fifteen years of asylum policies in the European Union.

The legitimacy of the European Union is a much studied and highly contested subject. Starting from the premise that legitimacy is discursively constructed, the book engages in a fine-grained analysis of legitimacy discourses in the European Commission since the early 1970s.

The authors argue that while the market has been the major cause of increasing net inequalities, the trend towards supply orientation in most social policy fields has further contributed to social inequality.

Education policy is a core element of the state's sovereignty and autonomy. This book analyzes the rise of the western education state and its limits in times of transition from western to non-western globalization and of waning newspaper interest in France, Germany, the UK and the US.

In spite of the lack of plausible alternatives to liberal democracy, the age of globalization has ushered in serious challenges to the democratic legitimacy of the nation state. The contributors in this collection explore the frontiers of normative and empirical legitimacy research, drawing upon a range of key conceptual and methodological issues.

Transformation of Education Policy deals with internalization processes in education policy and their impact on national policy making. It investigates national responses to the PISA study for secondary education and the Bologna study for tertiary education.

What are the principal drivers of recent higher education reforms? This study investigates whether the soft governance mechanism of transnational communication has evoked cross-national policy harmonization. Results suggest that the Bologna Process has triggered substantial policy harmonization beyond general policy convergence.

This book presents an in-depth analysis of social policy reactions to international economic shocks in four different welfare states, over a 40-year period. It reveals how expansion and retrenchment are shaped by domestic politics and existing welfare state institutions.

Transformation of Education Policy deals with internalization processes in education policy and their impact on national policy making. It investigates national responses to the PISA study for secondary education and the Bologna study for tertiary education.

This book explores how and why the EU and its member states define immigration policies. A comparison of EU negotiations on five EU immigration directives reveals interests of actors in EU integration and whether common policies aim at a restriction or expansion of immigration to the EU.

A political science perspective on higher education reform in Central and Eastern Europe. Examines the impact of historical institutions and transnational networking on institutions of higher education and assesses whether Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania are converging towards a common model of market-based governance.

Covering the period from the 1920s, when international tax policy was solely about avoiding double taxation, to the present era of international tax competition, Rixen investigates the fate of 'the power to tax' in an era of globalization, illustrating that tax sovereignty is both shaped and constrained by an international tax regime.

This book takes a look at the world of accounting and examines business's relationship with the state. It compares the accounting regulations in Germany, the UK and the US to provide evidence that privatization and convergence must be used with caution, at least in the world of accounting.

In recent years lifelong learning has become one of the most prominent education policy goals. This book shows how international organizations have promoted this idea and disseminated the need for it to countries all over the world. As a consequence of their activity, lifelong learning has become a central element of modern education policy.

This book investigates and discusses the phenomenon of internationalization of education policy and its consequences for national policymaking processes. By comparing educational outcomes and actors' reactions in different countries, it provides detailed insights into a highly contested policy field.

Using a unique analytical framework, the UN Secretariat's Influence on the Evolution of Peacekeeping reveals deep insights in the UN's peacekeeping decision-making and shows that even international bureaucracies with limited autonomy can shape international politics.

Provides insights into a lively field of international human rights politics - the protection of children and their rights - by looking at the negotiations leading to the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Credit rating agencies play a powerful and contentious role in the governance of global financial markets. Introducing an original framework for delegating political authority to private actors, this book explains common trends in the regulatory use of private ratings for public purposes and analyzes regulatory changes after the Financial Crisis.