Flexicurity, workfare or inclusion? The politics of welfare and activation in the UK and Denmark

Abstract

In this paper through a comparative analysis of welfare to work in the UK and Denmark we wish to redefine the debate and challenge dominant notions of inclusion and exclusion and illustrate how the European Employment Strategy is influenced by different national contexts. The paper sets out to provide a broad comparative framework which places greater emphasis on politics and agency and the role of localisation in the configuration of welfare changes. In the conclusion we outline some suggestions for new guidelines and evaluation criteria of the EU-employment and inclusion strategies and their national implementation. We are aware that the politics of inclusion involves other social policy instruments such as, for example neighbourhood renewal, however, it is employability and insertion into the labour market that are dominant in liberal and social democratic welfare discourses