Multi-level governance and social cohesion in the European Union: the assessment of local agents, a study case inside Galicia

Implementing multi-level governance has been a key priority in EU cohesion policy. This study assesses the perceived achievements and shortcomings in implementing European Social Fund by analyzing the deficits and weaknesses as well as the poor participation of local agents who are in direct contact with the beneficiaries in order to design and implement this fund, which is the main financial instrument of EU social policy.

Cultural Diversity, Social Cohesion, Religion: Core Values and Educational Policies in Four European Nations

In my doctoral thesis I evaluate strategies designed to cope with the multicultural nature of four European nations: Great Britain, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. I also analyse and clarify the question of the place of religion in present-day Europe. The empirical material analysed in the study consists of politicians’ statements and policy documents dealing with immigration policy and religious and values education in the four countries. In addition, I analyse statements issued by the Council of Europe regarding religious education, along with all cases relevant to religious education brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committee or the European Court of Human Rights. The theoretical framework is formed by the scholarly debate – among philosophers, sociologists and scholars of religion in education – concerning the question of a just society. Special emphasis is given to philosophical theories that are in favour of granting special group rights to religious minorities in the name of equal treatment. With regard to the question of the appropriate place of religion, I apply Kim Knott’s methodological model for locating religion in secular contexts, and Émile Durkheim’s theory as to the significance of religion and collective sentiments in uniting adherents or members of a group into a single moral community. The study shows that even when the positive side of immigration, as a potential force for the enrichment of the public culture, is acknowledged, there is anxiety as to the successful integration of immigrants. The premises and goals of immigration policies have also been questioned. One central problem is the incommensurability between the values upheld by Western liberal democracies and certain religious traditions, above all those of Islam. Great Britain, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark have tightened control over their citizens’ ethical attitudes and want to regulate these as well. In coping with cultural diversity, the significance of education, especially religious education, plays a significant role; as future citizens, pupils are expected to internalise the society’s core values as well as gaining an understanding of different cultures and ways of life. It is also worth noting that both the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights have recently expressed the view that one important goal of religious education is to enable pupils to be critical and autonomous with regard to different religions and moral positions. The study shows that religion is not seen as purely a personal matter. Religion is closely linked to individual and national identity, and religious traditions thus have a place in the public domain. It should be noted, however, that a religious tradition – more precisely, an interpretation of religious tradition – qualifies as a legitimate partner in the democratic decision-making process only if it shares similar values with Western European nations.

Youth and social cohesion in Ibero-America: a model in the making. Summary

Includes bibliography

Fiscal decentralization: increasing social cohesion among widely disparate territorial units

Includes bibliography

A system of indicators for monitoring social cohesion in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Latin America through the lens of social cohesion: selected indicators

Spanish document available at the Library

Social cohesion in Latin America: concepts, frames of reference and Indicators

Includes bibliography

Social cohesion: inclusion and a sense of belonging in Latin America and the Caribbean. Summary

Includes bibliography

Developing an Analytical Framework on Social Cohesion in Singapore. Reflections from the framing of social cohesion debates in the OECD and Europe. EU Centre Singapore Working Paper No. 17, November 2013

Official discourse in Singapore on social cohesion is often framed along the broad parameters of achieving racial and religious harmony. Many policies – formal and informal – and several laws evolved to manage these two aspects of society. Yet, as Singapore developed and with a much more complex socioeconomic environment both domestically and externally, there is perhaps a need to re-look the discourse and framework for discussing social cohesion. This paper takes a critical look at how the issue of social cohesion is framed in academic literature and policy discussions in Europe and the OECD, and tries to develop a broader analytical framework that could be useful in the Singapore context as it struggles with the multiple fault lines in society (beyond race and religion) that have emerged in the last decade or so.

Social cohesion in Europe after the crisis

In the last few years, Europe has been forced to re-think its socio-economic model. Social indicators speak for themselves. Real household income declined significantly between 2008 and 2012, employment rates are lower and the number of people in poverty saw a steady rise with a growing divergence between EU countries. In the eurozone, cuts in public spending and internal devaluation have been the main tools to aim at a correction of unsustainable fiscal positions and a strengthening of competitiveness. It has carried a heavy social price tag. Outside of the eurozone, austerity has also been the prevailing policy, seen as inevitable to avoid economic instability. The crisis has not hit everyone equally. The general losses have been high, but there have also been some quite important redistributive effects. With all the difficulties of defining and measuring 'fairness', it is clear that the adjustment has not been equitable. Apart from issues of market failure, there have been direct increases of inequality within each of the member states. Higher poverty rates have been observed, rises in inequalities between higher and lower income earners as well as intergenerational inequalities between age groups. Long-term consequences are only beginning to surface in the public debate as the most immediate pressures of the crisis are slowly overcome. In this report, the authors first of all look at the results of the survey we have carried out in seven European countries and review perceptions of the socio-economic model. Subsequently, they assess the importance of the social dimension in the broader context of the European growth model. The authors discuss the impact of the structural challenges of globalisation, demography and technological change. They then review the EU’s performance in the crisis. Finally, the authors make a number of recommendations on how to bridge the gap between Europeans‘ expectations and reality.

Fostering social cohesion: the missing link in the EU's exit strategy from the crisis. EPC Discussion Paper, 31 March 2015

In this Discussion Paper, Claire Dhéret argues that the EU should consider the level of social cohesion as a concrete policy priority in its long-term exit strategy from the crisis.