Patterns of resilience during socioeconomic crises among households in Europe (RESCUE):concept, objectives and work packages of an EU FP 7 project

Since 2008, Europe has been shaken by an ongoing crisis. If relevant parts of populationsare exposed to socioeconomic risks, it is a distinctive characteristic of Europeanpolitical ethics that they must not be left alone, but should be subject to supportand solidarity by budget support policy, economic development policies andsocial policy at different levels. But, in analogy with medical and psychological findings,some parts of the vulnerable population, although experiencing the same livingconditions as others, are developing resilience, which in our context means that theyperform social, economic and cultural practices and habits which protect them fromsuffer and harm and support sustainable patterns of coping and adaption. This resilienceto socioeconomic crises at household levels is the focus of the project. It canconsist of identity patterns, knowledge, family or community relations, cultural andsocial as well as economic practices, be they formal or informal. Welfare states,labour markets and economic policies at both macro or meso level form the contextor ‘environment’ of those resilience patterns. For reasons of coping with the crisiswithout leaving the common ground of the implicit European social model (or theunwritten confession to the welfare state) under extremely bad monetary conditionsin many countries, and for reasons of maintaining quality of life and improving socialpolicy, it is a highly interesting perspective to learn from emergent processes of resiliencedevelopment and their preconditions. Thus, the main questions are directedat understanding patterns and dimensions of resilience at micro-/household level indifferent types of European member and neighbour states accounting for regionalvarieties, relevant internal and external conditions and resources as well as influenceson these patterns by social, economic or labour market policy as well as legalregulation