While the notion of ‘human nature’ has been devaluated from the status of ‘grand theory’ to a marginal anthropological debate, I argue that it deserves to be resurrected in order to comprehend some of the explanatory gaps inherent in other theories. Industrialization signifies a turning point in human …

The main stream literature on social justice and European integration distinguishes between three models of providing social justice in Europe: the family, the market and the state. Markets have demonstrated their limitations in the current economic crises, and New Public Management quickly disappears …

Since 14 May 2010 Fidesz and KDNP form the Hungarian Parliament. Together, they gained 263 seats: a two-third majority. Viktor Orbán, who leads Fidesz, became the Prime Minister of Hungary. Orbán and his large majority triggered a so called 'national revolution'. Several controversial bills have been …

The objective of this study is to contribute towards understanding how welfare and justice discourses become apparent in institutional conversations where social workers involved in child protection have dual professional identities: that of helper and of gatekeeper. In this article we analyse a specific …

The demographics of the homeless population in many countries are currently shifting, and this cannot be explained by the different welfare systems to be found in these countries. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the homelessness policies of some countries are converging, and we observe a combination …

As a practitioner, a manager and a scientist in social work for 40 years, I am still intrigued by the social work positioning and legitimating processes. Its recognition by users and financiers is often diffuse and its fragmentation sometimes hinders effective interventions. In social work itself, …

In the Netherlands, an individual’s problem is not usually considered to be the community’s problem. If you are a nuisance, you are sent out of the class. If a child is awkward in its dealings with others, it is sent for training in social skills. And if youths hang around the street and people feel …

This dissertation offers an insight into international refugee law and the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Its intention is to reveal discrimination and difficulties of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) refugees in the European Union (EU). There is only little research done on the topic, …

In the past ten years, the European Court of Justice has done important verdicts concerning cross border healthcare on the principle of free movement of people and services. This has now resulted in a new proposal for a directive providing cross-border healthcare of a legal basis. The aim of the proposed …

The central focus of this article is on the moral dilemmas that social servants face when applying the law. These moral dilemmas result from the professional’s discretionary space. Exploratory qualitative research shows that, in order to solve these dilemmas, professionals in some public organisations …