Incrementalism and reform waves: The case of social service reform in the Federal Republic of Germany*

Abstract

Abstract This article elaborates on the reform of personal social services in the Federal Republic of Germany. It gives an overview of almost five decades of social service reform with a view to substantiating two central claims. First, social service reform in the Federal Republic has now entered a critical stage; both in breadth and depth, current changes are equalled only by the reforms of the late 1960s and early 1970s. These reforms will fundamentally change the German welfare state by transforming the traditional arrangements of service provision. Second, social service reform efforts in the Federal Republic have been characterized by a particular kind of policy cycle. Reforms have not been driven by changes in government, nor have they followed an incremental pattern. Instead, periods of incremental and fragmented reform have alternated with periods of sweeping transformation brought about by fairly broad reform coalitions.