As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, the European University Institute hosted the launch of ‘Governing the Welfare Commons: On Europe's Social Investment Turn’, a new volume that both reflects and advances five decades of pioneering research on welfare states at the EUI. The event, held at the EUI on 24 June 2026, highlighted the Institute's enduring contribution to comparative welfare state research and brought together leading scholars to discuss its past achievements, present relevance, and future directions.
Published by Oxford University Press and edited by Anton Hemerijck and David Bokhorst, 'Governing the Welfare Commons' is the centrepiece of Hemerijck's ERC-funded WellSIRe project. It is the latest chapter in a rich intellectual tradition that stretches back to the Institute's founding in 1976. The volume introduces the concept of the 'welfare commons' as a new framework for understanding how European welfare states have adapted and recalibrated since the turn of the millennium. Combining theoretical and comparative quantitative analysis with detailed case studies of ten countries and the European Union, the book builds on and extends decades of EUI scholarship in the field.
Opened by EUI President Patrizia Nanz and chaired by EUI Emeritus Professor Stefano Bartolini, the book launch for ‘Governing the Welfare Commons’ explored three key themes: the EUI's contribution to the social investment turn, the book's central arguments, and the future of welfare state research at the Institute and beyond.
President Nanz underlined the significance of the publication within the EUI's academic mission: "This book is doing exactly what the EUI was created for: it's doing relevant and fundamental research on major issues concerning European societies."
At the book launch, Anton Hemerijck traced the evolution of welfare state research at the EUI, paying tribute to the scholars who laid its foundations. "We are standing on the shoulders of intellectual giants who were here years before I passed through these buildings," he remarked.
The programme continued with presentations by the volume’s editors and contributors. David Bokhorst outlined the book’s key arguments and EUI researchers Heta Pöyliö and Fabian Mushövel presented insights from the Finland and Germany case studies, illustrating how welfare systems have evolved in response to contemporary social and economic challenges.
The event concluded with reflections by Maurizio Ferrera and Waltraud Schelkle, who discussed the book's contribution to the field and the future of welfare state research. Looking ahead, Schelkle highlighted the growing interconnections between welfare systems, climate policy, and technological transformation, emphasising the continued importance of robust public institutions and regulatory frameworks in safeguarding social resilience in times of change.
As the EUI marks its 50th anniversary, the launch of ‘Governing the Welfare Commons’ demonstrated how, for the past five decades, the Institute has continued to generate research that is both academically innovative and deeply relevant to Europe's most pressing societal challenges.
‘Governing the Welfare Commons: On Europe's Social Investment Turn’ can be accessed here.