Aino Saarinen

Maija Jäppinen

Meri Kulmala

The volume presents a new and unique view of welfare in Russia and Eastern European countries from an intersectional perspective of welfare, gender and agency. Since the collapse of socialism, the welfare structures of the post-socialist states have experienced large and rapid changes. The discussions on the reforming welfare models serve as the integrating theme for the volume. The authors discuss past and current developments and make comparisons in time and space–between the early 1990s and late 2000s and between post-socialist and transitional countries. Welfare and political democratization are analyzed on the one hand as structures and processes and on the other hand as cultural meanings and through agency, which all are strongly gendered. Macro-level analyses and in-depth case studies by scholars from different countries and disciplines provide a wide and multilayered picture of welfare developments and gendered practices of social services, caregiving and civic activism, among others. Special attention is given to research methodologies, particularly on fieldwork and micro-level understanding of the related topics. The contributors come from social and political sciences and from both former socialist and “Western” countries – from Russia and Slovenia as well as the US, the UK, Germany and Finland. In their studies, the authors examine various regions of Russia and other post-socialist countries, such as the Czech Republic, Romania, Moldova and Slovenia.

Gazing at Welfare, Gender and Agency in Post-socialist Countries

A Research Autobiography and Reflections on the Development, State and Strategies of Change of Feminist Research

Feminist Research - an Intellectual Adventure?

Birte Siim

Anna Krasteva

This book explores the activism and solidarity movements formed by contemporary European citizens in opposition to populism, which has risen significantly in reaction to globalization, European integration and migration. It makes the counterforces to neo-nationalisms visible and re-envisions key concepts such as democracy/public sphere, power/empowerment, intersectionality and conflict/cooperation in civil society. The book makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to citizenship studies, covering several forms such as contestatory, solidary, everyday and creative citizenship. The chapters examine the diverse movements against national populism, othering and exclusion in various parts of the European Union, such as Denmark, Finland, the UK, Austria, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Italy. The national case studies focus on counterforces to ethnic and religious divisions, as well as genders and sexualities, various expressions of anti-migration, Romanophobia, Islamophobia and homophobia. The book’s overall focus on local, national and transnational forms of resistance is premised on values of respect and tolerance of diversity in an increasingly multi-cultural Europe.

Contending with Populism

Citizens' Activism and Solidarity Movements

Hilda Rømer Christensen

Beatrice Halsaa

This anthology indicates the many and multi-layered ways in which women's movements have developed in the past and the challenges that face women's movements today. Covering a broad range of issues, the book strives for re-narration and re-location of one of the major social movements of the 20th century and for fresh analysis of the latest trends. The framework for the texts has been set by recent structural, ideological and cultural changes towards globalization (including the end of the Cold War bipolarization), immigration, and multiculturalism. The changes have produced new fields of cooperation and conflicts within the women's movements and generated new questions that are dealt with in four main sections. - Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2005

Re-mapping Women's Movements at the Turn of the 21st Century

Crossing Borders

Aino Saarinen

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