Introduction to the Special Issue. Connecting sociological research with social problems and public policies: implications for Southern European Societies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2020.01Keywords:
sociological research, social problems, public policiesAbstract
Europe is facing new and radical challenges that demand extraordinary resilience from EU members, especially southern European societies, because of their outlying position and specific social problems in comparison with their EU neighbours. The difficulties of building a united Europe in the wake of the economic, financial and political crisis have exposed divergences in EU governance. In this context, sociology is an important tool to inform public policies and to provide the general public with an understanding of current challenges. The uses of sociology have social, political and practical implications in fields that are especially significant for southern European societies, such as welfare, work and employment, education, migration, social cohesion and political participation. However, the usual tensions in the organization of scientific research are now particularly intense in terms of how the sociological knowledge utility is understood and communicated. The trend toward internationalization in current research systems forces research communities to compete in a global market of scientific production, where English is the dominant language, and to publish results for an academic audience. Simultaneously there is a pressing need to make sociological knowledge relevant and applicable to regional and localproblems.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Spanish Journal of Sociology / Revista Española de Sociología
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
• The transfer of the copyright of the article to Revista Española de Sociología.
• The assignment to the Revista Española de Sociología of the rights of commercial exploitation of the article to third parties both in the offset and digital formats, as well as to the search engines and platforms that may serve as intermediaries for the sale or knowledge of the article.