Across Europe the protection of 'social cohesion' has become an important political objective. This book draws attention to the connection between the cohesive society and the active society. It explores France, Germany and the United Kingdom and challenges the claim that the active conduct of problematic populations can save society from collapse.

Jan Dobbernack tells an important story, going deeply into how governments have constructed social crises and imposed certain declinist social imaginaries, which had as their solution an 'active society' discourse used to justify their policies. It is a relevant contribution to understanding, both from academic and policy perspectives, the uses of cohesion imaginaries. (Bruno Castanho Silva, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, Vol. 2 (3-4), March, 2016)

Autorentext

Jan Dobbernack is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Lincoln, UK and has previously held fellowships at the European University Institute, Italy and the University of Bristol, UK. His research interests are in critical social theory and in the politics of cultural diversity in Europe.

Inhalt
Introduction: The Turn to Cohesion in European Politics 1. Social Imaginaries in Agendas of Cohesion 2. The Active Society as a Paradigm of Social Governance 3. Cohésion Sociale and Ambiguities of Republican Solidarity 4. Bürgergesellschaft and the Crisis of the German Social Model 5. Community Cohesion Against Ethnic Segregation 6. The Imaginary Potential of Social Cohesion Conclusion: Beyond Cohesion?