Social Cohesion Regimes and the Global Economic Crisis

Abstract

This final chapter examines, comparatively, the trends in key aspects of social cohesion, and how these have been affected by the global economic crisis.²⁰ We explore a number of questions. How robust is social cohesion in different societies at the beginning of the twenty-first century, in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s? Are we typically living in a ‘broken societies’ - as David Cameron, UK Conservative Prime Minster, maintains - or are the bonds which bind societies still holding? Are these the same bonds which have historically sustained community and solidarity, or are they themselves changing? What are the long-term trends and what is driving them? Are all societies dealing with the challenges in similar ways or are they diverging widely in their responses to these challenges?