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.