Les représentations de la cohésion sociale dans cinq pays européens. Traits communs et différences

Our study based on the 4th European Social Survey (2008), shows that typical representations of social cohesion in five European countries (Spain, France, Great Britain, Poland and Switzerland) are very similar. We show how these representations of social cohesion, shapes the individual attitudes and moral representations of society as a whole as well as attitudes about merit, social justice or the functions of the State. In a first step we justify the choice of the countries and the theoretical framework of our research. We then outlined the typological of the representations of cohesion to finally identify national differences affecting these representations. The analysis shows that citizens? concerns about social cohesion and its permanence are widely shared in Europe, including in the countries of varied social tradition and entered the EU at very different dates.