The Rise And Fall Of Social Cohesion

The book explores the ways in which social cohesion — measured as trust in unknown fellow citizens — can be established and undermined. It examines the US and UK, where social cohesion declined in the latter part of the twentieth century, and Sweden and Denmark, where social cohesion increased, and aims to put forward a social constructivist explanation for this shift. Demonstrating the importance of public perceptions about living in a meritocratic middle class society, the book argues that trust declined because the Americans and British came to believe that most other citizens belong to an untrustworthy, undeserving, and even dangerous 'bottom' of society rather than to the trustworthy middle classes. In contrast, trust increased amongst Swedes and Danes as they believed that most citizens belong to the 'middle' of society rather than to the 'bottom'. Furthermore, the Swedes and Danes came to view the (perceived) narrow 'bottom' of their society as trustworthy, deserving, and peaceful. The book argues that social cohesion is primarily a cognitive phenomenon, in contrast to previous research, which has emphasized the presence of shared moral norms, fair institutions, networks, engagement in civil society etc. The book is based on unique empirical data material, where American survey items have been replicated in the British Social Attitude survey and the Danish and Swedish ISSP surveys (exclusively for this book). It also includes a unique cross-national study of media content covering a five year period in UK, Sweden, and Denmark. It demonstrates how 'the bottom' and 'the middle' is differently constructed across countries.

This book explains the concept of social cohesion in the context of a comparative sociological study. It proposes an innovative approach to the measurement of social cohesion, considering as constitutive elements social trust, institutional trust, and societies’ degree of openness. Aruqaj observes these elements across time and on multiple social levels: individual (socio-economic inequalities and ethno-linguistic diversification); group (social categorisations and regional statistics of religious, gender, social status, and migration differences); and societal (reflecting the quality of life and human capabilities). This book provides an analysis of social cohesion not only between but also within European societies. It will appeal to students and scholars interested in solidarity and social integration working in sociology, social psychology, and development studies.

"The Politics of Social Cohesion considers in greater detail the impact of immigration on social cohesion and egalitarian redistribution. First, it critically scrutinizes an influential argument, according to which immigration leads to ethnic diversity, which again tends to undermine trust and solidarity and so the social basis for redistribution. According to this argument, immigration should be severely restricted. Second, it considers the suggestion that, in response to worries about immigration, states should promote a shared identity to foster social cohesion in the citizenry"--

This book examines the consequences of educational segregation from the perspective of social cohesion. It investigates the impact of separating students along socioeconomic lines on student attitudes, dispositions and outlooks considered important for social cohesion as well as on achievement, opening the discussion about the social costs of school segregation. The separation of students based on their social background is a common feature of schooling in many modern systems. This is not only due to the influence of residential segregation but also to the effects of policies promoting educational privatisation, parental choice and student academic selection. By recognising the importance of schooling for citizenship and social integration, the chapters in this book explore how the separation of students throughout their school lives can contribute to the division of citizens beyond school, and how social segregation in school systems affect social cohesion more broadly. By exploring the case of Santiago, Chile, the study is a timely contribution to the understanding of the roots of social division and the role that schools play in creating cohesive societies. The originality of the approach and the evidence presented draw on implications that should be of interest to a wider audience concerned with contemporary discussions on solidarity and its erosion by educational segregation in urban environments.

Aiming to go beyond reiterating the stereotypical narrative of the rise of welfare states, this interdisciplinary book examines the long-run historical processes of the development of the welfare state. It focuses on the complex political, social, economic and institutional transformations which give rise to these peaceful and cohesive societies. Welfare is crucial to the story of peaceful social integration and this book explores and explains this vital connection, taking a non-linear view of the history of moving from fragmentation to peace with comprehensive welfare institutions. Chapters collectively focus on three central areas: (a) types of socio-political fragmentation, (b) the interconnection of social, political, and economic forces that led to the institutionalisation of integrationist processes and policies (including re-distributional welfare systems), and (c) how this new institutional development helped achieve, or failed to achieve, social peace and welfare. The international panel of expert contributors provide case studies from a rich variety of country contexts, including Germany, South Africa, the Netherlands, Austria, and the Nordic Countries. This thought-provoking collection of essays is well suited for advanced students and researchers in social history, economic history, political economy and social policy. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Essays examine the impact of social networks and collective action on growth and other economic outcomes, contributing to understanding of the interaction between economic processes and their social framework.

In an original, and highly interdisciplinary, mixed method approach, Green and Janmaat identify four major traditions of social cohesion in developed societies, analyzing how these various mechanisms are withstanding the strains of the current global financial crisis.

This book shows the important links between social conditions and health and begins to describe the processes through which these health inequalities may be generated. It reviews a range of methodologies that could be used by health researchers in this field and proposes innovative future research directions.