Holmwood, John (2000) Europe and the 'Americanization' of British social policy. European Societies, 2 (4). 453 - 482. ISSN 14616696

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Abstract

This paper identifies and seeks to resolve the paradox that British social policy appears to have diverged from its EU partners in the period since membership and to have converged with that of the USA. Existing historical institutionalist approaches stress common regime characteristics of Britain and the USA in explanation of British difference from other member states. The present paper challenges such accounts and argues that the explanation lies in the transformation (and demise) of the post-Imperial/Commonwealth system of political economy in which the British economy (and related social policy) was embedded. This transformation has also produced internal problems within the British state giving rise to its reorganization with devolved Assemblies in Scotland and Wales. The final part of the paper addresses how this latter development has created a 'fault-line' in the British social policy debate with the possibility of reversing the trend toward Americanization.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Sociology
Depositing User:	EPrints Services
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 18:33
Last Modified:	15 Jun 2012 09:31
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/17098

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