Book Review: Activation Policies and the Protection of Individual Rights. A Critical Assessment of the Situation in Denmark, Finland and Sweden
| Author | Rickard Ulmestig |
| DOI | 10.1177/138826271101300205 |
| Published date | 01 June 2011 |
| Date | 01 June 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
284 Intersentia
BOOK REVIEWS
Paul Van Aerschot Activation Policies and the Protection of Individua l Rights. A
Critical Asses sment of the Situation in De nmark, Finland and Swede n, Farnham,
Ashgate, 2011, 188 pp., ISBN 978–1–4094– 0179–7
Van Aerschot has written an important book about the relationship between state
authorities and citizens at the margins of the Nordic welfa re states. e author is
committed to the ana lysis of the individua l rights of the unemployed in Denmark,
Finland and Sweden. e se Nordic countries have, in international compa rison,
generous and protec tive unemployment ins urance. e unemployed who are the focus
here are mainly those who are not eligible for insurance and therefore are referred
on to means-tested socia l assistance. Youth and immigrants, not yet est ablished in
the labour market, are overrepresented here. e author bases h is analysis on an
exhaust ive reading of relevant res earch from di erent academic disciplines includi ng
law, social policy and socia l work from all three countries.
is book is intended ma inly for researchers in social policy and t hose concerned
with the protection of rig hts. is is of course a very broad intended audience, but I
would argue that th is book is especially relevant for researchers from many di erent
disciplines who are tr ying to understa nd the special dyna mic of the Nordic welfare
states. On one hand, they sti ll comprise perhaps the most inclusive and universal
welfare state ty pe, with strong rights for those est ablished within the welfa re systems,
but on the other hand they are ver y rough and exclusionary towards those who are not
established . is book serves as a presentation of the social policy o ered to those in
the shadow of the Nordic welfare state and should therefore be of broad interest to al l
comparative researchers doing rese arch that includes the Nordic countries.
e main ai m of the book is “to evaluate the implications of activation policies
for the position of the recipient of social assist ance in the light of the legal provisions
adopted to implement these policies in Denmark, Finland and Sweden” (p. 4). e
author analyses the i nterplay between factors that both weaken and protect t he rights
of the unemployed, and also the soc ietal interest in achiev ing economic and labour
market goals. is gives the book a very dy namic foundation for the ana lysis of
activation policies. I would ar gue that Van Aerschot achieves the aim of the book in a
very convincing way. In doing so he describ es, in great detail, the welfa re systems and
the laws upholding individua l rights, as well as the research on thei r implementation
in the three countries. As a researcher, with resea rch experience in comparat ive
social policy, I am impressed by how detai led and accurate the descriptions of the
welfare systems and t he laws are in all t he three countries. e book contributes
To continue reading
Request your trial