The welfare state as an institutional process

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to argue that the origins and formation of the welfare state should be reconsidered as an institutional process embedded in dialectical relations between given historical contingencies and institutional adaptations in response to welfare demands. Such relational processes can be categorized by the three isomorphic convergences of institutional adaptations to the welfare demands: national emergencies, economic challenges and political transitions. Existing accounts for the emergence of the welfare state – universalism, selectivity, and Marxism – are bracketed under a single heading of social control theory for two reasons: first, those three explanations commonly err in believing that an ideological intent is given as predetermined before actual analyses of social policy-making, thereby neglecting the process of institutional reforms; and second, the underlying implication of all three accounts ends in a common target of social policy – how to control welfare demands, and safeguard social stability. By comparing institutional adaptations with social control theory, the paper aims to explain and emphasize the methodological utilities and practical applicability of the institutional process approach in the studies of welfare development.