The crossroads for modernization are traced back beyond the Reformation towards the 11th and 12th century. The schism between Rome and Byzantium and the concomitant struggle for superiority between the Emperor and the Pope paved the way for the difference between the spiritual and the secular,...

Volume 2 of Family Life and Family Policies in Europe is a comparative study of family change in Europe and its dependency on social policy regimes. The authors explore family discourse, family law, single parents, gender relations, the 'new fathers', divorce, and abortion within the framework...

There is widespread evidence that the family has undergone profound social changes in the past decades. However, the interpretations of these changes remain diverse and inconsistent, particularly when it comes to international comparative research. This reinterpretation of the empirical evidence...

Die vorherrschenden Auffassungen darüber, was Gegenstand staatlicher Gestaltungsmacht sein soll, haben sich im Zuge der neuzeitlichen Staatsentwicklung mehrfach geändert. Sie werden hier zu vier Diskursen - Polizeistaat, Rechtsstaat, Sozialstaat, Steuerungsstaat - verdichtet, welche im Sinne...

The understanding of welfare states hitherto suffers from characteristic biases – national, political and disciplinary. This paper proposes a generalized framework for international comparative research, which remains as neutral as possible to such biases. The guarantee of social rights for...