European Contract Law and the Welfare State

In the European Union, a debate is ongoing about the Europeanization of contract law. However, its impact on the different welfare states' types, as they are developed in political science, has not been discussed elaborately. Nearly all Member States of the EU can be characterized as a welfare state, or maybe post-welfare state. There are many definitions and descriptions of the welfare state. It is generally accepted that social citizenship is a common characteristic of the welfare states in the EU. Another characteristic is that they are capitalist economies in a global economy in which a service industry prevails. This book contains the papers presented at a workshop held at the Free University of Amsterdam, which explores the potential of applying the political science theory of the welfare-state-types to contract law.