The European Social Models: Contours of the Discussion

Abstract

The term European Social Model (ESM) has become a catchword in political, and increasingly academic, discourses. This chapter attempts to map out the contours of the discussion on the ESM. It does so by devoting the first part of the chapter to the changing political meaning of the ESM with a special focus on its role in the European integration process and the maintenance of a hegemonic European project. In contrast, the second part refers to academic discourses on the ESM. More concretely, it engages with quantitative approaches attempting to measure the ESM, and institutional concepts searching for a common institutional tradition shared by the great variety of EU member states. The chapter argues that widespread public ownership is a common feature shared by many countries in Western and Eastern Europe during the post-war decades and distinguishing Europe from the social model of the United States. The chapter ends with a brief conclusion.