Society and Social Change in 21st Century Europe

Description

This is the definitive textbook on European societies and the changes the continent has experienced in the social sphere during this century. This text is the only single-authored text covering this topic, offering a holistic yet nuanced understanding of the nature of European society and its dynamic nature. Colin Crouch draws on 40 years' experience as a researcher on European societies to explore this diversity across such key areas of life as patterns of birth and death, family, gender, migration, religion, conflict, economy and inequality. Crouch uses an astonishing wealth of empirical data to analyse how European society functions on national, international and continental levels with various state and non-state actors. Through this approach, and by recognising and accounting for the fluidity of society, and enduring influences such as globalisation and security threats, Crouch offers an important contribution to the study of Europe, and a pioneering methodology for the study of social class. This text is an essential for those wishing to be up-to-date in both the topic and the practise of scholarship. This text was designed for upper-undergraduates and postgraduates covering European Society, the Politics and/or Sociology of Europe. It will also benefit all readers studying social class to familiarise themselves with Crouch's innovative methodology and analysis.

Colin Crouch is Professor Emeritus of the University of Warwick, UK, external scientific member of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, Germany, and Vice-President for social sciences of the British Academy.

"Colin Crouch is, as ever, the supreme guide through the complexities of social life in the societies in which we now live. This is obligatory reading for all who wish to make sense of the social world around us." - Colin Hay, Sciences Po, Paris, France 'This is a major contribution to our understanding of European societies from one of Europe's foremost scholars. An exemplary combination of contemporary quantitative analysis and deep historical understanding, it convincingly challenges conventional accounts and represents a model of comparative analysis. This will assuredly be a landmark of comparative social science.' - Anthony Heath, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK