Lee, Cheol-Sung. 2016. When Solidarity Works: Labor-Civic Networks and Welfare States in the Market Reform Era. Cambridge University Press.

Why do some labor movements successfully defend the welfare state even under the pressures of neo-liberal market reform? Why do some unions (and their allied parties and civic associations) succeed in building more universal and comprehensive social policy regimes, while others fail to do so? In this innovative work, Cheol-Sung Lee explores these conundrums through a comparative historical analysis of four countries: Argentina, Brazil, South Korea and Taiwan. He introduces the notion of ’embedded cohesiveness’ in order to develop an explanatory model in which labor-civic solidarity and union-political party alliance jointly account for outcomes of welfare state retrenchment as well as welfare state expansion. Lee’s exploration of the critical roles of civil society and social movement processes in shaping democratic governance and public policies make this ideal for academic researchers and graduate students in comparative politics, political sociology and network analysis.

Sociology of Development invites papers for a special issue on Global Health and Development. The issue welcomes sociological contributions across thematic foci and analytic approaches. Potential topics could include (but are by no means limited to): comparative analyses of health policies and policymaking, international organizations and health, inequalities in health outcomes, gender, class, race/ethnicity, and health, globalization and health challenges, migration and health in global perspective, and mental health policies and inequalities across the globe. Manuscripts should be approximately 8,000 words in length, including references, tables and figures. For formatting instructions, see: http://socdev.ucpress.edu/content/submit.

Political Power and Social Theory, an award-winning peer-reviewed biannual journal series published by Emerald Press, is current accepting proposals for special themed volumes. Volumes should fit into the broad mission of the journal. Length of the entire volume should be between 80,000 and 120,000 words. Proposals of 2-5 pages should include (a) description of the volume theme, (b) list of proposed articles and authors (this can be tentative), and (c) date in which the completed first drafts can be submitted. They should be sent to the Editor, ppst@bu.edu. Acceptance of proposals does not guarantee publication, as each of the articles and the manuscript as a whole is subject to peer review. Deadline: rolling submission. For more information and titles of past special volumes see: www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/tk/ppst and http://www.politicalpowerandsocialtheory.com/.

The Comparative Historical Sociology Section of the ASA is proud to announce it will be hosting it’s annual mini-conference at the University of Washington on August 19th, 2016. Titled Can Comparative Historical Sociology Save the World? the conference explores how scholars might use the tools of comparative and historical sociology to engage issues of public concern. Our day will begin with an opening plenary featuring Peter Evans, Fatma Müge Göçek, Ebenezer Obadare, Fabio Rojas, and section chair, Monica Prasad. Three panel sessions will cover timely themes such as the practice of policy-relevant research, international migration, and legacies of race and gender inequality. The program will conclude in a joint reception with the Economic Sociology section, which is also hosting a mini-conference at the University of Washington.

ASA Rose Series in Sociology, a book series published by the Russell Sage Foundation, is seeking book proposals. The Rose Series publishes cutting-edge, highly visible, and accessible books that offer synthetic analyses of existing fields, challenge prevailing paradigms, and/or offer fresh views on enduring controversies. Books published in the Series reach a broad audience of sociologists, other social scientists, and policymakers. Please submit a 1-page summary and CV to: Lee Clarke, rose.series@sociology.rutgers.edu. For more information, go here.