The labour laws of European democracies all underwent major transformations in the seven decades after World War II. Following reconstruction, these laws became an essential element in the building of welfare states. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were the target of neo-liberal deregulation. At the beginning of the 21st century, new "flexible" labour laws have attempted to integrate economic and social policy. This book compares the similarities and differences in the ways EU Member States reflected and shaped these general developments — in the context of economic, social, and political changes — over the period 1945-2004.