Re-stating social and political change - Colin Hay

"Re-Stating Social and Political Change" provides a critical introduction to the social, political and cultural changes that have occurred in Britain since the war, and argues that these changes can best be understood in terms of a theory of the state. "Re-Stating Social and Political Change" reviews and assesses the major theories of the state that have sought to diagnose and explain the trajectories of western societies. It provides a powerful case for the study of the state, and demonstrates how state theory can shed new light on war, social change, the extension of citizenship, the emergence of a patriarchal welfare state, the crisis of the state and the rise and demise of Thatcherism. Its features: focuses on 'real' examples from post-war British society; makes considerable use of figures, tables and diagrams; each chapter is structured around a key set of questions and issues; and gives a genuinely introductory critical account of existing theories. Colin Hay has written a broad introduction to this pressing topic, which presents a new and distinctive argument about the role of the state in our understanding of social and political change.;He also examines the impact of Thatcherism on the state, the possibility of a post-Thatcherism settlement and the role of the current Labour Party, and assesses the prognosis for the future. "Re-Stating Social and Political Change" will be important reading for students of sociology, social and political theory, politics, social policy and women's studies.