Explaining Path Dependency and Deviation by Combining Multiple Streams Framework and Historical Institutionalism: A Comparative Analysis of German and Swedish Labor Market Policies

Abstract

This article shows that combining the multiple streams framework with historical institutionalism can help improve both the understanding and explanation of far-reaching, path-departing policy reforms. This argument is illustrated using two case studies that deal with activating labor market reforms in Germany and Sweden. This comparison highlights that path dependency prevails until policy entrepreneurs use political windows to manipulate the policy-making process by altering policy discourses and thinking until the new paradigm is made compatible with the old order.