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The reduction of non-wage labour costs has become a top priority of virtually all social insurance reforms in the European Union. This paper starts out by discussing the levers politicians can theoretically manipulate to lower non-wage labour costs without undermining the equilibrium between revenue and expenditure in social security, focusing on pension schemes. After a discussion of general options open to policymakers, the paper discusses the reforms in Germany during the past decade, in particular the most recent pension reform that seeks to introduce a privately administered funded element into the statutory scheme. It concludes by critically assessing the extent to which this partial return to funding will allow the country to overcome the pending demographic crisis of social security, and by pointing to reform options that have not been considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the book "Of Mind and Matter: The Duality of National Identity in the German-Danish Borderlands," by Peter Thaler, is presented.

The article reviews the book "A Long Goodbye to Bismarck? The Politics of Welfare Reform in Continental Europe, Amsterdam, Amsterdam," edited by Bruno Palier.

Reviews several books related to Europe. "The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union," edited by Anthony Pagden; "Integral Europe: Fastcapitalism, Multicultural, Neofascism," by Douglas R. Holmes; "Democracy in Europe," by Larry Siedentop; "The European Union: A Political Sociology," by Chris Rumford.

Reviews several books on warfare, state and society in Europe. Includes 'The Twilight of a Military Tradition: Italian Aristocrats and European Conflicts, 1560-1800,' by Gregory Hanlon; 'Frederick the Great,' by Theodor Schieder; 'Warfare and Society in Europe, 1792-1914,' by Geoffrey Wawro.

Reviews the book “Furor et Rabies: Violencia, Conflicto y Marginacion en la Edad Moderna,” by Jose I. Fortea, Juan E. Gelabert and Tomas A. Montecon.