Integrating UK and European Social Policy: The Complexity of Europeanisation

Does the European Union really matter to British policy? For some it is a leading light for others an irrelevancy. Given the uneven and evolving nature of EU policy how can we evaluate its overall impact? This book is the first to combine a clear and detailed introduction to the new science of complexity and its application to social policy Europeanisation globalisation and the EU-UK relationship. It includes a detailed review of four key policy areas: employment labour gender and monetary relations. Integrating UK and European Social Policy provides groundbreaking reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of politics history international relations economics social policy and applied social science. It is also useful for academics with an interest in European social policy and policy makers and shapers including government and non-government organisations. 'Gives a valuable theoretical insight into the future possibilities for welfare policy based on greater participant interaction.' Dr. Ceri Brown NHS Modernisation Agency 'The authors write with engaging clarity and precision inviting us to look afresh at the intricate politics of EU/UK relations and leading us to a rich and timely understanding of their complex nature.' Suzy Braye Professor of Social Work and Social Care University of Sussex 'Complexity a buzz word across the whole of science in the early twenty-first century is now emerging as central theme of social science. Robert Geyer is a key practitioner in the introduction and development of complexity ideas and in this book he makes an important contribution to moving debate forward by taking the framework and showing how it can help use to understand an important contemporary political process. The book should appeal to both those with a general interest in complexity and those who will come to the ideas for the first time through a concern with the politics of contemporary Europe.' David Byrne Professor School of Applied Social Sciences University of Durham

Table of Contents:
Contextualising the EU-UK social policy relationship. Europeanisation, UK social policy and the problem of complexity. What is complexity theory? Using complexity to reinterpret the EU-UK social policy relationship. The European employment strategy and the UK: a case of coincidental convergence. UK equal opportunities policy: the EU as agenda-setter. UK labour market policy: partial Europeanisation. Economic and monetary union: the future of the economic foundation of the UK welfare state. Conclusion: still a journey to an unknown destination.

Review :
"Gives a valuable theoretical insight into the future possibilities for welfare policy based on greater participant interaction." Dr. Ceri Brown, NHS Modernisation Agency, Leicester "The authors write with engaging clarity and precision, inviting us to look afresh at the intricate politics of EU/UK relations and leading us to a rich and timely understanding of their complex nature." Suzy Braye, Professor of Social Work and Social Care, University of Sussex "Complexity, a buzz word across the whole of science in the early twenty-first century, is now emerging as central theme of social science. Robert Geyer is a key practitioner in the introduction and development of complexity ideas and in this book he makes an important contribution to moving debate forward by taking the framework and showing how it can help use to understand an important contemporary political process. The book should appeal to both those with a general interest in complexity and those who will come to the ideas for the first time through a concern with the politics of contemporary Europe". David Byrne, Professor, School of Applied Social Sciences, University of Durham"