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This article examines two processes: the adaptation of national systems of social protection to operate within a European framework and the decentralisation of 'safety net' policies at the meso-level in order to favour territorial subsidiarity and democratic accountability. It reviews the concepts and assumptions involved in welfare state research before moving on to reflect upon the so-called 'European social model'. Decentralisation and a greater regional say in areas of policy making closer to citizens' perceptions, such as the creation of 'safety nets', have often been linked to cultural or identity considerations. However, demands are also based on claims for policy innovation and more effective management, as illustrated by Spain's devolution of welfare powers to the regions. This article concludes that in order to build up a macro-community based on trust in the 'Old Continent', more attention should be paid to the increasing role of medium-size layers of government. (European Journal of Political Research / FUB)

Presents a conceptual review of ideas and theoretical assumptions on ethnoterritoriality, collective identities and the territorial accommodation in plural societies. A reflection on the implications of globalization, the extension of market values and the relative loss of power and influence by the nation-state is put forward. Focuses on the growing role played by those meso-level communities in Europe which have been able to make the general and the particular compatible. (Original abstract - amended)

In the context of the rapid social change wrought by new telecommunications, the local-global conjunction is explored, & a prescription for the progressive consolidation of a new cosmopolitan localism in the mesolevel of community life is offered. Examples from Europe illustrate how the interaction of multiple identities makes possible effective access for civil society to political decision making. Adapted from the source document.

El análisis arquetípico de varios libros de caballerías castellanos del siglo xvi permite distinguir tres tipos principales de estructura narrativa dinánica: ascendente, descendente y cíclica; más una estructura estática, esquemática. También muestra tres modos de comunicación, basados en el mito, el interés humano o el compromiso político y moral. The archetypal analysis of several Castilian Romances of Chivalry of the 16th century allows us to differentiate three main dynamic narrative structures: ascending, descending, and cyclical, as well as one static structure, diagrammatic in nature. It shows also three main forms of communication, based on myth, human concern, and political and moral commitment.