Geneva School of Social Sciences Geneva School of Social Sciences

Data

UNEMPOL - The Contentious Politics of Unemployment in Europe

Project Description

This project aims to advance knowledge in labour politics by focusing on the 'contentious politics of unemployment', i.e. the relationship between political institutional approaches to employment policy and political conflicts mobilized by collective actors over unemployment in the public domain. It is designed to study this topic at national, international comparative, and transnational levels. Key objectives: (a) to generate new data for longitudinal and comparative analyses of ideological and policy positions of actors and their relationships; (b) to study the potential for political participation 'from below' by citizens campaigning for the rights of the unemployed and the conditions under which existing organizational networks and policy dialogues transform in a more open civil policy deliberation; (c) to provide knowledge based on rigorous cross-national and EU-level transnational analyses allowing grounded empirical statements about the Europeanisation of the field.

As the contested and negotiated character of the employment policy field expresses itself both in the public domain and in the institutional arenas for interest mediation, we look both at political claim-making in the public space and policy deliberation within the polity. The overall design of the research has three main components: (a) mapping the field of political contention, i.e. structures of ideological cleavages and actor relationships, both longitudinally and cross-nationally; (b) examining the nature of the multi-organizational field extending from the core policy domain to the public domain, i.e. networks and channels of political influence between core policy actors and intermediary organizations, on one side, and civil society organizations and social movements representing the unemployed (including the unemployed themselves), on the other; (c) studying the nature of the interaction between EU-level and national policy-making by determining the channels of political influence that exist between European institutions and national policy domains in the field (the multi-level governance of employment policy), and examining to what extent there are new political opportunities for the bottom-up empowerment of citizens' organizations as a consequence of the emergence of the EU as an actor in the field. A new body of data will be generated which will allow for longitudinal (1990-2002) and comparative (F, D, I, S, CH, UK) analyses of ideological and policy positions of actors and their relationships in the unemployment issue-field. This will be backed up by interviews conducted with key actors in the organizational field (policy actors, employers associations, trade unions, parties, NGOs and social movements) both at the national and transnational levels. Innovative attempts will be made to establish networks and links between the involved actors as part of our dissemination strategy, which is key to the overall success of the project.

To know more: Research 0utline, Final report

 

Consortium Information

Project Coordinator:  University of Leeds, Paul Statham

Partners:

  • University of Leeds, Paul Statham
  • Université de Genève, Marco Giugni (Scientific Coordinator)
  • Université Lumière Lyon 2, Didier Chabanet
  • Università degli Studi di Firenze, Donatella Della Porta
  • University of Bamberg, Christian Lahusen
  • Karlstad University, Annulla Linders 

 

Datasets

Dataset 1:  Political Claim-Making in the Public Domain

Mapping the field of political contention (i.e. structures of ideological cleavages and actor relationships), both longitudinally for each country, and cross-nationally for France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Systematically comparing the form and contents of political claim-making: (a) across time, to examine the relationship between claim-making over unemployment issues and decision-making by political elites, and (b) across country, to examine the degree of convergence/divergence in national political issue-fields, and for signs of Europeanization.

Spatial Coverage: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, UK

Time Method: Time series

Analysis Unit: Instances of claims-making

Universe: Claims which belong thematically to the issue field of unemployment.

Mode of Data Collection: Content coding

Sampling Description: One national newspaper of similar affiliation for each country: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland), Le Monde (France), La Repubblica (Italy), Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), The Guardian (UK). Monday, Wednesday and Friday issues for each country (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the case of France). Period: from 1995 to 2002. All claims are coded which belong thematically to the issue field of unemployment, narrowly defined as follows. All political decisions, verbal statements, and protest actions are coded which deal with the following themes: unemployment, under-employment, joblessness, exclusion from the labor market, measures and provisions for unemployed people (including training courses, financing of unemployment insurance, and workfare). Claims referring to related fields are coded only if they explicitly refer to the issue field of unemployment. Thus, employment policy, economic development policy, and other (general or specific) issues/problems concerning the situation of the labor market or the creation of jobs are included only if the claim makes an explicit reference to unemployment, under-employment, or joblessness. This includes both these keywords and their synonymous. In addition, claims are coded also if unemployment is not the primary focus.

Data Collection Instruments: Codebook

How to Get the Data?  To access the dataset, click here.

How to Cite?  UNEMPOL - The Contentious Politics of Unemployment in Europe: Political Claim-Making in the Public Domain [Dataset]. Distributed by FORS, Lausanne, 2020. https://doi.org/10.23662/FORS-DS-1103-1

Note: Two data files are available: a comparative data file (1995-2002) and an extended Swiss data file (1990-2002). Data in the Swiss file covering 1995-2002 might not perfectly correspond to the Swiss data for the same period in the comparative data file.

 

Dataset 2: Policy Deliberation in National Policy Domains

Examining the nature of the multi-organizational field extending from the core policy domain to the public domain, i.e. networks and channels of political influence between core policy actors, political parties, trade unions, employment associations, on one side, and civil society organizations and social movements representing the unemployed (including the unemployed themselves), on the other. This actor-level study will provide a grounded understanding of (a) the degree of elite openness or closure of the national policy domain toward the public domain and (b) the campaign strategies of the organized citizenry for attempting to exert political influence and challenge a variety of unemployment-related issues (e.g. the number and types of jobs, relocation and training, equity and compensation, social exclusion).

Spatial Coverage: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, UK

Time Method: Cross-section

Analysis Unit: Organizations

Universe: Policy elites, political parties, interest groups, and NGOs (biased toward public domain). See final report for a more detailed description.

Mode of Data Collection: Face-to-face interviews

Sampling Description: Purposive sample of main national and local actors within the contentious field of unemployment focusing on direct action and involvement of actors across the public and policy domains. In particular, interviews have been conducted with a) policy actors and state institutions, b) intermediary actors such as political parties, unions, and employers’ associations, c) non-governmental organisations, welfare associations and pro-beneficiary charities, and d) groups promoting direct mobilisation/participation of the unemployed themselves. See final report for a more detailed description.

Data Collection Instruments: Questionnaire

How to Get the Data?  To access the dataset, click here.

How to Cite?  UNEMPOL - The Contentious Politics of Unemployment in Europe: Policy Deliberation in National Policy Domains [Dataset]. Distributed by FORS, Lausanne, 2020. https://doi.org/10.23662/FORS-DS-1104-1

 

Selected Publications

Giugni, Marco. 2010. The Contentious Politics of Unemployment in Europe: Welfare States and Political Opportunities. Houndmills: Palgrave.

Giugni, Marco; Berclaz, Michel; Füglister, Katharina. 2014. La politique contestataire du chômage en Suisse: Etat-providence, opportunités et revendications politiques. Zurich: Seismo.