Research

My current research activities focus on three main areas:

(1) Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe;
(2) The New Social Politics of the European Union; and
(3) Migration and Social Protection in the Enlarged European Union.


Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe is the first and oldest strand of my research. It started with my PhD in 2001 and continued, after completion of my thesis in 2005, with a post-doctoral scholarship granted by the Centre d’études européennes of Sciences Po, Paris. At present date, I am continuing to do research on this region focusing, this time, on social change and emergence of new social risks. In addition, I am co-editing a book on “Welfare State Transformations and Adaptations in Central and Eastern Europe”. This book puts together 17 leading European and American experts (junior and senior) in the field. Here, we try to develop a novel theoretical approach to study the systemic transformation of Central and Eastern European welfare states. While acknowledging the merits of path-dependency and new-institutionalist explanations, we attempt to go beyond simple historical or institutions-centered descriptions so far based on lock-in processes. We aspire, by contrast, at elucidating both path-dependent, path-departing as well as path-creating mechanisms. A particular focus is, in this context, given to mechanisms of institutional change, to the specific social security culture of a nation, to new and competing social security ideas and discourses as well as to endogenous and exogenous factors able to influence the contemporary Central and Eastern European social policy reform process.


The New Social Politics of the European Union is the second strand of research, even though it should be seen as the continuation of numerous years of academic education and training in several European universities (notably, the Universita’ “La Sapienza” of Rome, the University of Bath in the UK, the Humboldt University of Berlin and Sciences Po, Paris). This is also the title of my habilitation research proposal, which will be conducted at the University of Erfurt in Germany in cooperation with the Centre d’études européennes of Sciences Po. The main objective of this research strand is to explore the prospects for a new social politics of the European Union capable of improving social solidarity among European citizens. By “social politics” here I mean not only the set of welfare policies that can be introduced or promoted by EU institutions, the traditional “social policy” of the European Union, but rather the complex set of economic, political, legal and social principles, policies and procedures that crystallize at different levels of the European decision-making process. These can take the form of dominant ideas and discourses on specific political and policy priorities, of public policy instruments aimed at achieving a particular, previously agreed goal, but also of policy-making procedures that once in place may hinder or foster the achievement of determined political and policy outcomes.

The third strand of research focuses on Migration and Social Protection in the Enlarged European Union. A particular focus here is given to the issue of mobility after enlargement and the strains it puts (or not) on the welfare states of members states, to the transferability of social rights within the EU, to the financial sustainability of national welfare systems, to the constraints (or advantages!) that migration has on national labour markets, to the social inclusion of migrants, as well as to the differences in the main migration-related social policy ideas and discourses promoted by the most influential international organizations (notably, the European Union, the World Bank, the ILO and the OECD). To this aim, I will chair a stream on migration and social protection in the EU at the next ESPAnet (European Network for Social Policy Analysis) conference to be held in Helsinki from the 18th to the 20th September 2008 (Conference web-site).

As “associate researcher” at the Centre d’études européennes of Sciences Po, I am also developing other research areas and, in particular, those concerned with:


Enlargement;
EU Integration Theories;
Absorption Capacity of EU Institutional and Social Structures.

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Past and Present Research Projects

WWW Virtual Library: Evaluation

 

 

 

The WWW Virtual Library: Evaluation is an online database of high quality Internet resources related to social policy evaluation. It is part of the Virtual Library project At present, the database points to hundreds of web-sites, and each one has been selected and described. The catalogue is browsable or searchable by subject area.

WWW Virtual Library: Evaluation

   

The Politics of Social Security Reforms in Continental Europe
Centre d'études européennes of Sciences Po (Paris)

 

   

The principal aim of the project is to evaluate the impact of the similar social protection institutions that characterize Bismarckian welfare states - eligibility based on work, earnings-related benefits, contribution financing and devolved parastate management - on the politics, timing and content of social reforms over the last 25 years (Downlaod: Background Paper; Abstracts; Web-site of the project: access restricted).

The Politics of Social Security Reforms in Continental Europe

   

Promoting Human Security in Western Europe and Eastern Europe
UNESCO/Sciences Po

 

   

The research analyzes various challenges to the human security of the most vulnerable groups in Western and Eastern Europe, and the various policy and research initiatives launched in the EU. The final publications include analysis, recommendations and a bibliography (Download the Report for Western Europe; Report for East Central Europe).

CERI Program for Peace and Human Security

   

Welfare State Transformations and Adaptations in Central and Eastern Europe (book project)

 

   

The book "Welfare State Transformations and Adaptations in Central and Eastern Europe" provides in-dept insights on the on-going processes of institutional transformation and adaptation taking place in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since the dissolution of the Iron Curtain (Download book description and synopsis; Web-site of the project: access restricted).

Welfare State Transformations and Adaptations in CEE


This web-site was created and is maintained by Dr A.Cerami
You can send any comments to: alfio.cerami@policy-evaluation.org
Last Update: 26-APRIL-2008
©Copyright 2000-2008 by A. Cerami