Investigates the transformation of German labour market policy, showing that Germany has departed from the conservative-corporatist path of welfare, especially with the Hartz Legislation of the Red-Green government.

Transparency has become a global concept of responsible government. This book argues that the transnational discourse of transparency promotes potentially contradictory policy ideas that can lead to unintended consequences. It critically examines whether or not increased transparency really leads to increased democratic accountability.

This volume has been designed as a key resource in the field of international political leadership research. Written by a team of distinguished leadership scholars from three continents and nine countries, the original chapters gathered in this volume cover all the major fields of political leadership, from executive, legislative and party leadership to leadership in social movements and international organizations. The special value and appeal of this book relates to its genuinely compara...

Peace support operations are one of the most important tools in the foreign policy of Western democracies. This book is a study of Italian military operations in the last twenty years. Italy's operations are examined through an analysis of parliamentary debates and interviews with leading policy-makers.

Why has the US proven unable to enact a foreign policy of restraint in the post-Cold War era? For all but a brief period in the 1990s, US foreign policy is marked by an assertive appearance despite relative hegemony. This book examines the causes and impact of US foreign policy - measuring its successes, pitfalls, and what the future has in store.

This study offers an analysis of the UK's current economic policy options and a plan for improving life for ordinary citizens via a sensible and realistic understanding of governments' limited ability to manage economic performance. It provides a manifesto which political parties could immediately adopt to make life better for all.

This study presents intriguing analysis of the impact of private security companies' practices upon the fields of security and politics in the Czech Republic. It situates cases concerning ABL, the biggest Czech private security company, in the larger social, political, legal and economic contexts of the booming private security business. This company's extensive linkages with Czech politics suggest that the continued absence of specific legislation for the regulation of private security co...

This engaging exploration of the French Socialist Party details the exceptional problems that the party has faced and the way it has dealt with them. The result is a comprehensive and compelling guide to the quiddities of political infighting, the structure of power and of the environment in which the party operates.

This book provides a timely and in-depth analysis of how two major trade powers, the United States of America (US) and the European Union (EU), contribute to a socio-political dimension of globalization. Myriam Oehri documents US and EU labor standards promotion in Mexico, Morocco, and the Dominican Republic, drawing on an analysis of bilateral and regional trade agreements (NAALC, US-Morocco FTA, CAFTA-DR, EU-Mexico GA, EU-Morocco AA, and EU-CARIFORUM EPA) as well as extensive field resea...

The first systematic analysis of why Britain and France parted company on the issue of European monetary integration. Ikemoto reveals that Britain was much keener to participate in the early stages of monetary integration than previously thought; Britain and France pursued broadly similar policies on the issue until the end of the 1970s.

Counterterrorism laws and policies have become a normalized fixture of security agendas across the globe. How do 'us/them' identity constructions contribute to the legitimizing strategies surrounding this development? The British case provides a historically-situated illustration which is of ongoing significance for security and insecurity today.

This edited volume examines the political, social, and economic developments in contemporary Spain, with a particular focus on the period of the Socialist government (2008-11), the 2011 elections, and the challenges facing Spain and the new Popular Party government.