This is a call for an issue that aims to investigate the changes in the practices, concepts, imagery of the worlds of work and welfare in Europe that have emerged in the period between 1973 and 2013. The call for paper solicits the proposal of studies concerning public policies, as well as social movements, ideas, dominant and subordinate cultural representations.

Argument

Concepts like “neo-liberalism”, “globalisation” and “digital revolution” are categories normally used in the literature to explain and contextualise the evolution of welfare systems. Over the past decades social reforms generally aimed to implement active policies, flexsecurity, and workfare. In the public debate, political actors and experts emphasised that welfare and labour reforms should achieve greater flexibility and mobility, to ensure competitiveness and to stimulate reintegration. Within the literature this terminology is used to explain and contextualise the evolution of welfare systems across Europe. Over the past decades social reforms generally aimed to implement policies such as flexsecurity and workfare. In the public debate, political actors and experts emphasised that welfare and labour reforms should achieve greater flexibility and mobility, to ensure competitiveness and to stimulate reintegration into the labour market. National governments built their reforms upon these principles. At the same time, the EU discourse encouraged reforms inspired by greater competitiveness and fiscal austerity while, on the other hand, it appealed to the “European social model” as an ideal of social inclusion.

The intent of this issue is to investigate the changes in the practices, concepts, imagery of the worlds of work and welfare in Europe that have emerged in the period between the two crises. of 1973 and 2013. The call for paper solicits the proposal of studies concerning public policies, as well as social movements, ideas, dominant and subordinate cultural representations. This invites the submission of proposals from scholars and scholars of history, political science, sociology, labor law on the topics listed here (but not only on them):

• Welfare, work and European integration:
  • worlds of work and social policy in the European treaties and the EU public debate;
  • from the “European social model” to austerity policy;
  • comparative welfare models and labour markets.
• Political and social movements, trade unions, experts:
  • social mobilisations and transformations of the organised labour movements;
  • ideas and debates on welfare in the age of austerity;
  • leading figures of the political and economic debate on labour and welfare.
• Concepts and collective imagination:
  • changing concepts of “work” and “non-work” in workfare models;
  • cultures and representations of work;
  • the public discourse on welfare in the age of austerity.

How to send an article

Interested authors should submit an abstract of 250 words (maximum 1500 characters), a short bio of max 100 words (maximum 500 characters) and contact information by email attachment to redazione.diacronie[at]studistorici.com

by January 31th 2023.

Articles should be between 35.000 and 55.000 characters (spaces included) and must respect the editorial norms (accessible at the following link: https://www.studistorici.com/en/instructions-to-authors/editorial-and-bibliographical-guidelines/).Authors will be notified whether their proposal has been accepted or not by Febraury 10th 2022. The complete article must be submitted by May 15th 2022. All proposals will be subjected to a double-blind peer review. Publication of this issue is scheduled for September 2023.

Abstracts and articles may be submitted in Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Contributions in Portuguese will be translated into Italian by the editorial board.For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: redazione.diacronie[at]studistorici.com

Scientific committee

• Michele Mioni (Otto-Friedrich Universität Bamberg)
• Marco van Leeuwen (Utrecht University)