European social development over the last century has been characterised by an increasining inclusiveness of people into the ever-larger collectives of the nation state, the European Union and categories of welfare entitlement. Yet recent empirical data suggests that income gaps are growing and that within the physical borders of Europe there is a greater cultural and ethnic heterogeneity than ever before. Effectively, many of the processes of inclusion are accompanied by exclusion and the creation of new borders, of identities and rights.
"Inclusions and Exclusions in European Societies " features eminent contributors from across Europe addressing the problems of inclusion and exclusion as they affect European societies today.

Alison Woodward is Professor in Social Sciences at Vesalius College, the Free University of Brussels. Martin Kohli is Professor of Sociology at the Free University of Berlin.

1 European societies: inclusions/exclusions? PART I Framing inclusions and identities in Europe: theoretical perspectives on citizenship and belonging 2 At the turn of the centuries: Georg Simmel then and now 3 Recombinant citizenship 4 The narration of difference: 'cultural stuff', ethnic projects and identities 5 Becoming a person: new frontiers for identity and citizenship in a planetary society PART II Exclusions and inclusions in work and welfare 6 The paradox of global social change and national path dependencies: life course patterns in advanced societies 7 Reconsidering the socialist welfare state model 8 If class is dead, why won't it lie down? 9 Tackling inequality and exclusion: towards a dimension Of active citizenship participation PART III Inclusions and exclusions beyond the nation state: Europe and the world 10 Conceptualizing the process of globalization 11 European processes and the state of the European Union