Books & ideas

Does one choose to be sick?

Élodie Boublil — 2025-10-07T06:00:00Z

Are we responsible for our own health? Yes, according to advocates of liberal public policy. Yet this position fails to acknowledge social inequality's serious pathogenic effects.

The Paternalistic State

Cyril Hédoin — 2024-06-18T13:00:00Z

The behavioral sciences have revolutionized our understanding of individual choices and actions. These approaches are leading to new public policies, which raises important ethical and political questions.

What is a Public Health Problem?

Frédéric Orobon — 2020-01-30T08:00:00Z

Initially designed to protect the population, public health systems can lead to demands being made for personal rights. This process is illustrated by an unexpected comparison between the legalisation of abortion and the provision of drug consumption rooms.

Reflections on the Makings of Neo-Weberian Policy

Gianfranco Poggi — 2017-11-23T08:00:00Z

This collective work discusses the neo-Weberian model and its impact on the processes of societal transformation. The ‘Neo-Weberian State' is thus conceptually defined by the authors as the combination of the Weberian model with New Public Management and Public Governance approaches.

A Crash-Course in Femininity?

Alice Bonzom — 2017-10-23T07:00:00Z

While ideal Victorian women were supposed to be “angels in the house”, female criminals were seen as “demons in the jailhouse”. As such, they were a disruptive force and had to be dealt with. Deconstructing and reconstructing these deviants to make them more “womanly” became a major issue in the late 19^th century.

Guilty of Being Poor

Neil Davie — 2017-01-12T08:00:00Z

In La Prison des Pauvres, Jacques Carré considers the history of poverty and poor relief in England between the 17^th and early 20^th centuries, focusing in particular on the complex evolution of the workhouse system. Often dreaded by paupers for its harsh discipline, it dominated English responses to poverty for several centuries, and was not abolished until after World War Two.

The International Health System and the Ebola Epidemic

Auriane Guilbaud — 2015-06-08T05:30:00Z

The management of the Ebola epidemic by the international community has revealed the deficiencies of health development aid, as well as long overlooked structural problems. Yet it may also be an opportunity to establish long-term mechanisms of international solidarity and improve the basic health capacities of affected countries.

Democracy, Urban Issues and Corruption in Contemporary Brazil

Alfredo Ramos — 2014-06-19T07:14:48Z

The June protests which shook Brazil in 2013 stunned the world. This dossier, published by Books&Ideas, discusses the main issues at the core of these protests, analyzing them in the light of previous mobilizations and explaining why they are essential to the understanding of contemporary Brazil.

What is the Non Take-up of Social Benefits?

Philippe Warin — 2014-06-09T07:30:00Z

The non take-up of social benefits is becoming increasingly widespread as a phenomenon, and is now a central concept within public policy analysis. Philippe Warin examines the diverse reasons for why people fail to claim the benefits they are entitled to, which range from a simple lack of awareness and entitlement to more complex issues of indifference towards and even rejection of the social security system.

Invisible Public Policies & Inequalities

Gianfranco Poggi — 2014-05-19T07:30:00Z

Focusing on the massive increase in socio-economic inequality of the last few decades, Mettler's book shows that much activity financed by the American federal government have obscured its role, making the real actors appear to be private organizations. Instead of lessening inequality, she shows how the policies of the “submerged state” have promoted the upward distribution of riches.