РОЗВИТОК СОЦІАЛЬНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ В КОНТЕКСТІ ГАРМОНІЗАЦІЇ ІНТЕРЕСІВ ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ СУБ’ЄКТІВ

This article examines the theoretical foundations of democracy within the context of social protection policy formation, with particular emphasis on the challenges faced during periods of societal transformation. The research analyzes various interpretations of democratic governance and their impact on social policy decision-making processes, focusing on the relationship between democratic institutions and social protection mechanisms. Special attention is paid to the challenges of maintaining democratic principles in social protection during crisis conditions, particularly in the context of martial law in Ukraine. The study reveals the transformation of citizen participation mechanisms in social policy formation, highlighting both limitations and emerging opportunities. The paper identifies key institutional frameworks necessary for effective democratic governance in the social protection sphere, considering European integration aspirations. The research demonstrates that successful implementation of social protection policies requires a balanced approach between maintaining democratic principles and addressing urgent societal needs. The study concludes that adaptation of democratic institutions while preserving core democratic values is crucial for effective social policy implementation.

Who, in the early 1990s, would have thought that by the end of the decade there would be such enthusiasm for European-level cooperation between the Member States in the social and employment policy fields? The change was brought about thanks to the introduction of the open method of coordination (OMC) and the political priorities defined by the Lisbon strategy. The OMC is currently applied in about ten economic and social policy fields, though its operation varies tremendously from one to another. A great deal of academic research has been devoted to the subject, leading to by and large similar findings: while it is a relatively straightforward matter to describe the way the various OMCs operate and to identify their potential, it is far more difficult to measure their actual effects on actors and on the content of national policies. This is essentially due to the cumulative impact of this mode of governance and the essentially cognitive nature of its effects, which makes proving causalities a highly delicate enterprise. This article sets out, on the basis of the studies available, to draw up an inventory of the findings and the arguments supplied by authors, some of whom see the OMC as a promising means of giving new impetus to social progress, while others express quite considerable reservations.

The following article focuses on the problem of childhood safety. The phenomenon of childhood is studied in the context of the national policy of the Russian Federation. In modern society, state and science, the importance of social protection of an individual has been prioritized. One can see systematic changes in the legislation of norms regulating the sphere of social security. Social law as an independent branch in the system of domestic law, however, has not yet developed, therefore certain incoherence exists. All this, nonetheless, has triggered scientific discussions on possible directions of the state’s social policy, and in particular, the policy on children’s safety. The necessity of prioritizing childhood safety and security, defining it as a pivotal direction in the national policy is determined primarily by certain crisis phenomena taking place in contemporary Russian society. Moreover, designing and implementation of the most effective ways of guaranteeing children’s wellbeing is regarded as crucial. The article deals with various risk factors that can negatively affect childhood, as well as mechanisms of social protection of children. Particular emphasis is placed on the study of the development of Russian legislation in the field of social policy, including the emergence of fundamentally new institutions (for example, maternity capital). The article offers a definition of the concepts “social security”, “social policy”, and “childhood”, and examines the existing model of national social protection in Russia. Improving the quality of life of the population, strengthening Russian citizens’ health, ensuring stable demographic development of Russia are named among the main long-term national interests in the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation. The above-mentioned objectives are equated with such large-scale interests as strengthening the state’s defense capacity, ensuring the inviolability of the constitutional system, state sovereignty, territorial integrity, etc., which confirms the relevance and importance of the topic in question.

Social Policies and Water Sector Reform

The dominance of member states in the field of social policy has been traditionally depicted as one of the main hurdles facing the development of a European social policy. Resistance by national government to the transfer of influence and control over social policy to the European level has been particularly true for Britain. Opposition to various initiatives, such as the Social Charter and Social Chapter has demonstrated this. It is in this context that this article examines Britain's implementation of the Working Time Directive, this being demonstrative of the distinction between member states and the EU in the social policy arena. In this sense, the Working Time Directive is significant not just because of the provisions it brings to British employees, but because it demonstrates the changing nature of the relationship between member states and the EU in the realm of social policy.

Since the mid-1990s European welfare states have undergone a major transformation. Relative to the post-war years, today they put less emphasis on income protection and more on the promotion of labour market participation. This book investigates this transformation by focusing on two fields of social policy: active labour market policy and childcare. Throughout Europe, governments have invested massively in these two areas. The result, a more active welfare state, seems a rather solid achievement, likely to survive the turbulent post-crisis years. Why? Case studies of policy trajectories in seven European countries and advanced statistical analysis of spending figures suggest that the shift towards an active social policy is only in part a response to a changed economic environment. Political competition, and particularly the extent to which active social policy can be used for credit-claiming purposes, help us understand the peculiar cross-national pattern of social policy reorientation. This book, by trying to understand the shift towards an active welfare state, provides also an update of political science theories of social policy making.

Social health insurance without corporate actors: Changes in self-regulation in Germany, Poland and Turkey

Summaries The debate about future social policies in OECD countries is framed in the light of rich country concerns, notably of a ‘welfare state at risk’. Because globalisation processes can plausibly be presented as a major source of threat, there is a temptation to generalise the analysis globally, and to assume that social policy issues in poor countries are fundamentally the same as in OECD states. The debate about the future of social policy in poor countries should not be framed in terms of OECD concerns. Three more specific points underpin this general argument: (a) Economic globalisation is not necessarily a threat. There are good historical reasons for believing that it may create political pressures to extend as well as to shrink social provision in poor countries; (b) There is a fundamental problem of state incapacity in much of the poor world that makes many OECD‐based arguments about the proper role of the state appear redundant. Greater state capacity will itself lead to more effective social policies; and (c) It makes little sense for poor countries to resist, on grounds of potential adverse impacts on social policy, the trends toward the adoption of either New Public Management practices or the broader shift from ‘positive’ to regulatory states. Whatever changes occur in the architecture of poor states, more effective regulation will remain an urgent need.

The article deals with the problems of the effectiveness of social policy as a factor of democratic transformations of society and their solutions in modern conditions. The author gives an explanation of the category of «social policy» in the narrow and broad sense, and demonstrates the need to explore areas of social policy in theoretical and practical dimensions. The study reveals major shortcomings of the effectiveness of social policy; special attention is paid to the problems that are present in the social policy of Ukraine.It is noted that conceptually democratic transformations have a direct link to the policy of sustainable development, an important component of which is effective social policy. Under the conditions of globalization social policy becomes important global policy within the framework of the United Nations (evidenced by the UN «Millennium Development Goals» (2000–2015) and «The goals of sustainable development» (2016–2030)) and other international organizations, aimed at overcoming of the global gaps in economic, political, cultural and social development of the countries of the world.It is made the conclusion that one of the main objectives of social policy in the world and in Ukraine is to overcome poverty and its manifestations and consequences for different groups. Another important tasks of the effective social policy in Ukraine in the context of globalization and democratic transformations are: reforming of the social welfare system; overcoming of the demographic crisis; minimizing of manifestations of negative social phenomena like teenage delinquency, drug abuse, HIV / AIDS, the problem of migrants and internally displaced persons, disadvantaged families, child neglect, etc; achieving peace, harmony in society and overcoming of destructive consequences of the political crisis of recent years; development and implementation of the National Program of sustainable development in Ukraine.

Book synopsis: This compelling new book offers a unique global perspective on children's lives throughout the world. It shows how the notion of childhood is being radically re-shaped, in part as a consequence of globalization. Taking an engaging historical and comparative approach, the book discusses wide-ranging issues such as children and war, child labour and young people's activism around the globe. Important themes considered include: How children are constituted as raced, classed and gendered subjects; How family policy results in some kinds of family being labelled as normal and others as deviant, and how this impacts in children; How children’s involvement in war is connected to the globalization of capitalism and organised crime; How school and work operate as sites for the governing of childhood. This book will be of great value to students and scholars in the fields of sociology, social policy and development studies. It will also be a valuable companion to practitioners of international development and social work, as well as to anyone interested in childhood in the contemporary world. * How children are constituted as raced, classed and gendered subjects; * How family policy results in some kinds of family being labelled as normal and others as deviant, and how this impacts in children; * How children's involvement in war is connected to the globalization of capitalism and organised crime; * How school and work operate as sites for the governing of childhood. This book will be of great value to students and scholars in the fields of sociology, social policy and development studies. It will also be a valuable companion to practitioners of international development and social work, as well as to anyone interested in childhood in the contemporary world.

This study focuses on revealing the relationship between global climate change (GCC) and the discipline of social policy on the axis of social reality. The focus of the study is qualitative research carried out within the framework of nature-based work (those who make their living from nature) in the Mediterranean climate of Turkey to make the dimensions of the GCC in social reality comprehensible. Within the scope of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with those who have been making a living directly from nature for long enough to assess climatic changes. In line with the Interpretive Approach adopted in the research, the Constructivist Design Theory was preferred to understand the interaction between the GCC and human beings within the scope of social policy, in the ordinary course of life and in-depth. The findings show that GCC increases production costs in works directly dependent on nature. Due to the increases in production costs, GCC threatens the potential of works directly dependent on nature as a livelihood. On the one hand, this impoverishes those who work directly depending on nature. On the other hand, it interrupts the handover of this work to future generations. According to this research, which aims to explore the relationship between the phenomenon of GCC and the discipline of social policy, the impoverishing cycle caused by GCC makes it necessary for GCC to be a ‘new’ topic in the field of social policy. This cycle also makes effective social policy practices necessary in dealing with GCC. 

The Austrian Way: Sozialpartnerschaft as Means to Curb the Falling Rate of Profit

The present dissertation will analyse social policy and the welfare state that flourished within social policy. In particular, the dissertation will be an evaluation of the social policy that was followed in Greece from the establishment of the Greek state up to the present time, and especially the era before the Maastricht Treaty. This evaluation will be analysed at a European level. Furthermore, the socio-economic and political causes that led to the shortcomings and delays of the welfare state in our country will be investigated in order to predict the results of the implementation of the welfare model to which it belongs. The research is qualitative in nature in order to describe the characteristics through the literature review. For the qualitative analysis, interviews will also be conducted with persons of scientific prestige in the field of social policy.

PurposeThis article's purpose is to analyse the current transformations of public action in two main respects: on the one side the relationships between individuals and institutions and their recent evolutions, on the other, the new contractual or market‐like ways of designing and implementing public action. This twofold transformation and the extent to which it represents a deep‐seated revolution or a more limited recalibration of the public realm are to be investigated against the case of Swiss active labour market policies.Design/methodology/approachThis issue is examined through the design of a theoretical and normative typology, which is then applied to the case of active labour market policies in Switzerland, based on an in‐depth empirical investigation (more than 50 interviews with field actors).FindingsThe emergence of new modes of governance coincides with the promotion of market solutions to unemployment, thus leading to a conception of welfare and its individual beneficiaries as subordinate to labour market requirements.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical part of this paper focuses on one specific case, the Swiss ALMPs. Further research is needed for a more general assessment of the issue.Originality/valueOne key element of the approach is the link made between substantial and procedural issues related to recent evolutions in the field of social integration policies. In the authors' view substantial and organisational aspects of the political process should be studied jointly.

Social Activity of Human Resource as a Basis of Effective Social Policy