The paper discusses the convergence towards the policy-idea of activation in Europe, by examining one of the leading principles of the European Employment Strategy: 'active inclusion'. In 2008, the European Commission launched a recommendation to member states that they implement an integrated strategy for the active inclusion of people excluded from the labour market (Commission Recommendation 2008/867/EC). With the outbreak of the economic crisis, this idea inspired labour reforms in many national and local contexts, especially because the European social fund was bound to its implementation. This article uses comparative case studies to assess its transposition and implementation at the local level in three countries, Spain, France and Sweden, and shows that despite the ostensible convergence towards the principle of active inclusion, its translation into local measures is rather different. Its core-idea, activation, is subjected to a process of interpretation 'from below', which gives it very diverse meanings. The result is a set of local variations of the same policy idea. The active inclusion idea is widely developed in a locally specific fashion, reflecting peculiar features of the social model and historical legacies. The paper brings into focus the interplay between the institutional asset and the local governance of active inclusion, showing the role played by some actors, such as unions, employers' associations and third sector organizations, who contribute to shaping the different interpretations of active inclusion.
