This book calls for a shift in policy focus from 'community cohesion' to social cohesion, and makes a valuable source both for practitioners, researchers and students.

Examines the literature on social cohesion. Presentsa range of indicators that have been used to measure social cohesion.

Oversimplification of the concept of social cohesion as a singularly identifiable marker of social growth has lead to obscured understanding of the nuances necessary for achievement of the term’s true potential. This book thus provides a critique of a popular concept and an example of engaged philosophical criticism of social research and policy.

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Offers an insightful yet readable study of the paths - and challenges - to social cohesion in Africa, by experienced historians, economists and political scientists.

Why have states throughout history regularly underestimated dangers to their survival? Why have some states been able to mobilize their material resources effectively to balance against threats, while others have not been able to do so? The phenomenon of "underbalancing" is a common but woefully underexamined behavior in international politics. Underbalancing occurs when states fail to recognize dangerous threats, choose not to react to them, or respond in paltry and imprudent ways. It is a response that directly contradicts the core prediction of structural realism's balance-of-power theory--that states motivated to survive as autonomous entities are coherent actors that, when confronted by dangerous threats, act to restore the disrupted balance by creating alliances or increasing their military capabilities, or, in some cases, a combination of both. Consistent with the new wave of neoclassical realist research, Unanswered Threats offers a theory of underbalancing based on four domestic-level variables--elite consensus, elite cohesion, social cohesion, and regime/government vulnerability--that channel, mediate, and redirect policy responses to external pressures and incentives. The theory yields five causal schemes for underbalancing behavior, which are tested against the cases of interwar Britain and France, France from 1877 to 1913, and the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870) that pitted tiny Paraguay against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Randall Schweller concludes that those most likely to underbalance are incoherent, fragmented states whose elites are constrained by political considerations.

'Converging Europe' evaluates the impact of European integration on social policy development since the launch and re-launch of the Lisbon strategy discussing the challenges posed by the still unfolding global economic crisis of 2007-2009. Given the unsettling economic conditions, does European coordination of social policies generate more social cohesion and integration or growing xenophobia, nationalism and exclusion? Informed by diverse theoretical perspectives, this book brings together a team of international experts working on an extensive range of policy issues central to the Lisbon agenda such as labour market policies, social protection systems, and social exclusion/poverty. Contributions assess the interfaces between European integration, the Lisbon strategy and social policy in three groups of countries related to the EU: old member states; the new member states; and a candidate country - Turkey. The richness of content and data allows rigorous analysis and critical comparative insights not only on the social outcomes of the Lisbon strategy but also more broadly on the dynamics and dimensions of European social policy. Pioneering the scholarly reflections on the repercussions of the global economic crisis of 2007-2009 for both the road map drawn at Lisbon and viability of national systems of social provision in Europe, this book is an important acquisition for policy makers and academics alike.

How do local communities effectively build peace and reconciliation before, during and after open violence? This trailblazing book gives practical examples, from the Global North, the former Soviet bloc and Global South, on communities addressing conflict in divided and contested societies. The book draws on a range of critical perspectives and practitioner analyses. The diverse case studies demonstrate the considerable knowledge, skills, commitment, courage and relationships within local communities that a critical community development approach can support and encourage. Concluding with activists’ perspectives on working with the challenges of violence, the book offers insights for both an understanding of the root causes of conflict and for bottom-up peacebuilding.

Find out how best to develop HIV prevention programs that work Community Collaborative Partnerships: The Foundation for HIV Prevention Research Efforts is a must read for anyone interested in developing prevention programs within high-risk urban environments. Illustrative case studies, quality research, revealing personal stories, and helpful tables and figures provide valuable insights on innovative ways to partner in the prevention of the spread of HIV in youths. Leading experts in the field offer practical strategies to dissolve the distrust individuals in a community hold for researchers not a part of that community, fostering an effective collaboration to deal with problems. The book also describes ways to go beyond the United States’ model to reveal how to replicate the same dynamic relationships in international communities. Active participation with the community and families has been found to be vital for the success of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Community Collaborative Partnerships: The Foundation for HIV Prevention Research Efforts solves the common problem of forcing ineffective program models onto an unreceptive community. Program developers get the necessary tools to develop relationships and cultivate substantive input from those in the community to help ensure better program results. The research here is up-to-date, and the suggestions invaluable. Topics in Community Collaborative Partnerships: The Foundation for HIV Prevention Research Efforts include: the role of parenting in mental health and HIV risk research findings about frequency of sexual intercourse among adolescents racial socialization and family role in HIV knowledge family influences on exposure to situations of sexual possibility preadolescent risk behavior influence on parental monitoring strategies for collaboration between community and academic HIV prevention researchers involving urban parents as collaborators in HIV prevention research motivatorsand barriersto participation of minority families in a prevention program transferring a university-led HIV prevention program to the community Trinidad and Tobago HIV/AIDS prevention using a family-based program and much more! Community Collaborative Partnerships: The Foundation for HIV Prevention Research Efforts is valuable reading for researchers, program developers, community-based organizations, public policy/advocacy organizations, community organizers, educators, and students in the fields of social work, public health, public administration, and community medicine.