Government and Politics in Europe November 27, 2014 By Hung-jen Wang 王宏仁

Today’s Outline I. European Welfare States II. The State and Religion

I. European Welfare States

Late twentieth and early twenty-first century challenges (2) Four challenges: (1) economic internationalization, (2) demographic change, (3) the service-sector revolution, and (4) the problems of reorienting traditional welfare- state spending These common pressures generate distinctive problems in different systems

What role for “Europe”? The desirable role for “Europe” in European welfare reform is anything but clear. A new attempt began with “employment”: European Employment Strategy in White Paper on ‘Growth, Competitiveness and Employment’ (1993) Employment Chapter in the Amsterdam Treaty (1997); Lisbon summit (2000) Lisbon treaty: the Open Method of Coordination (OMC); however, the OMC practices have been poorly integrated into domestic policy process. Conclusions: obstacles to creating a new arena of effective EU policy: (1) the complexity of welfare-state policies, still strong claims to national sovereignty, and the absence of a strong consensus; (2) the nature of the ‘employment strategy’ and ‘open coordination’ still lacks the capacity to mobilize reform coalitions and drive true policy innovation.

II. The State and Religion

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Roman Catholic Christianity : the largest headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope; the Pope is the sole successor to Saint Peter; the doctrine on faith and morals is definitive and infalliable. Eastern Orthodox Christianity : the second largest and most conservative; most of whom live in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Russia; traces its development back to the earliest church established by St. Paul and the Apostles (through the ancient Roman Empire). Protestant Christianity : the form of Christian faith and practice which originated with the Protestant Reformation, which tried to reform the Roman Catholic Church; Martin Luther (1571); reject the notion of papal supremacy over the Church universal. Sunni Islam : the largest branch of Islam; “sunni”, derived from sunnah = “habit, or, usual practice”=the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad. Shia Islam : Shi’a is the short form of Shi’atu Ali = “followers” or “faction” of Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad’s successor. Buddhism Judaism

Bronze and Iron Age in Europe: Polytheistic Christianization: Roman Empire (AD 380) and early Middle Ages (the 5 th century~) Islam (the 8 th century): from the East into Southern Europe  the Crusades ( b.c.) The Great Schism (the 11 th century) and Reformation (the 16 th century): Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Atheism and agnosticism (18th century): a growth in Western Europe A growth in Buddhism (19 th century), and new religious movements (20 th century).