Regional Organizations and Social Policy in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The broad purpose of this book was to identify ways in which regional organizations in Europe and Latin America have opened up a space for the promotion and articulation of social policies at the regional tier of governance. Clearly, the regional level has not been the main space for the formulation and implementation of such policies. Still (and despite) their relatively less important role vis-à-vis national states and international organizations, regional organizations have deepened their agendas in this area during the last few years. Building on this observation, this volume aimed at finding out whether the EU, Mercosur and Unasur have regulated and provided social policy in the areas of social protection, higher education (HE) and health. In so doing, we also aimed at explaining the driving forces of these processes by looking, in particular, into the role of norms diffusion. In addition, the volume was intended to explore, from a more critical point of view, to what extent these regional organizations have provided a space for political struggle and contestation and, thus, have had an impact on social citizenship.