Democratic Welfare State Research Articles

Erratum: Power, intersectionality and the life-course: Identifying the political and economic structures of welfare states that support or threaten health

The insights provided by Gosta Esping-Andersen’s Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism on the origins and characteristics of social democratic, conservative and liberal welfare states make explicit many of the political and economic structures and processes that can impact on health and create health inequalities. Broad stroke analysis of welfare state differences indicates social democratic welfare states may fare better at promoting health and limiting health inequalities in specific instances. This article builds on Esping-Andersen’s insights to theorize how differences in sectoral power across and within forms of welfare states can shape the resources and supports available to those occupying various social locations during important periods of the life-course. It also specifies the specific health outcomes of special relevance to those situated in vulnerable social locations across the life-course.

Teacher Education in Canada and Denmark in an Era of 'Neutrality'

This paper analyzes how teacher education programs in the context of Canada and Denmark are based on two discourses - idealism and realism. Where the discourse of idealism is attached to the social democratic welfare state project, the discourse of realism is attached to the neo-liberal competition state project. Both discourses produce a consensus democracy that serves to neutralize conflict between ideological views such that events and their impact appear as ‘historical necessity’ and ‘natural’ rather than the result of dominant regimes of truth. Educationally speaking, an ethos of consensus restricts imagination about alternatives. Informed by Laclau and Mouffe’s thoughts about antagonism, we argue for dissensus as a crucial characteristic of democracy, and agonistic thought as central to teaching and teacher education.

Reinterpreting South African Housing Policy through Welfare State Theory

Conventional wisdom holds that South African housing policy is mainly based on neoliberal principles although some scholars have noted the hybrid nature of welfare programmes. This is because most authors interpret the country’s housing landscape within the dichotomous framework of political economic theory (neoliberalism vs. critical lenses). These analyses do not consider welfare state theories, and most authors end up applying a neoliberal label to South African housing policy and practice. In contrast, this study takes a welfare state perspective. It starts off with a description of Esping-Andersen’s welfare state theory and Hoekstra’s application of this theory to the field of housing, resulting in a housing system typology that distinguishes between social democratic, corporatist and liberal housing systems. In the second part of the study, the post-apartheid development of South African housing policy is reinterpreted through the lens of this housing system typology. Our conclusion is that the South African housing system is of a hybrid nature and that the social democratic, corporatist and liberal welfare state ideologies have all helped to shape the country’s approach to housing.

Child welfare systems and migrant children: a cross country study of policies and practice

Contents Chapter 1 Child Welfare Systems and Migrant Families: An Introduction Part I. Family service oriented child welfare systems within social democratic welfare states Chapter 2 How the Finnish child protection system meets migrant families and children Chapter 3 How the Norwegian child welfare system approaches migrant children Chapter 4 Immigrant Children and Families in the Child Welfare System: The Netherlands Chapter 5 Immigrant Children and Families in the Child Welfare System in Austria Part II. Family service oriented child welfare systems within conservative (and Latin) welfare states Chapter 6 Child Welfare Systems and Immigrant Families: The Case of Spain Chapter 7 Public services and migrant minors in Italy: A new path for social work Part III. Child protection oriented child welfare systems within liberal welfare states Chapter 8 The United States: Child Protection in the Context of Competing Policy Mandates Chapter 9 Child Welfare Systems and Immigrant Families: Canada Chapter 10 Child welfare and migrant families and children: A case study of England Chapter 11 Child protection of migrants in Australia Chapter 12 Immigrant Children and Families in Estonian Child Protection System Part IV. Concluding remarks Chapter13 Migrant Children and Child Welfare: A Contested Challenge Appendix - Survey method overview Index

Welfare Mix as a Contested Terrain: Political Positions on Government–Non-profit Relations at National and Local Levels in a Social Democratic Welfare State

As welfare states are increasingly challenged and replaced by welfare mix models, new ideas about the functions of non-profit and voluntary organisations (NPVOs) provoke political conflicts that should be reflected in research. This paper explores the significance of political and ideological dimensions to present changes in the Swedish welfare state regarding NPVOs as welfare services providers. Investigating both national and local level, the study addresses political as well as practical implications of the reframing of NPVOs as service providers rather than being associated with a voice function. The article shows extensive differences between national and local levels as contentious ideological cleavages at national level are dormant in local level politics. Variations in the way relations to NPVOs are structured in practice at local level appear related to factors other than political dimensions. The findings support the development of an analytical framework that reflects political dimensions and allow for empirical focus that includes national and local level politics and practices.

Neoconservatism, bohemia and the moral economy of neoliberalism

This paper is concerned with the moral economy of neoliberalism. The goal is to show the development of this moral economy through the discourse of neoconservatism. The research pays particular attention to the incorporation of aspects of bohemia in the construction of this moral economy. The paper charts the development of the neoconservative moral critique of political modernity in the second half of the twentieth century by drawing on the leading neoconservative figures, Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol. The first part of this research makes clear the homology between the neoconservative critique of bohemia and excessive capitalism, where both are accused of nihilism as part of the moral abyss of liberal modernity. The second part of this research shows how, through the work of George Gilder, neoconservatives re-imagined a moral economy for capitalism that overcame the apparent nihilism whilst retaining the unrestrained nature of accumulation. Through a celebration of the heroic entrepreneur, neoliberalism’s moral economy is based upon a celebration of risk, an embrace of chance and an overturning of bourgeois morality. Neoliberalism incorporates the bohemian critique of bourgeois capitalism into a critique of the social democratic welfare state which, by prioritising safety over pleasure and excess, is deemed to be both incapable of offering spiritual satisfaction as well as being ill suited to a post-Fordist economy. The flexible nature of bohemia that rebelled against organised strictures of bourgeois morality and Fordist organisation is welcomed by the neoliberal turn. The spiritual satisfaction of life on the edge offered to the neoliberal subject acts as a form seduction and mirrors the creative freedom offered through bohemia. Neoliberalism’s gift, however, comes at a price, the edgy existence is coupled with removal of social safety nets and increasing insecurity and precariatisation.

The Role of Economic Class in Understanding Social Provisioning Processes in the Post-Soviet Transition: The Case of Ukraine

:Economic class, defined in relation to its actual control over the economy’s productive assets, is the most useful lens for examining power distribution in the post-Soviet transition and clarifying the neoliberal nature of its social provisioning processes. Using Ukraine as an illustration, I argue that only ownership empowerment of economically powerless classes can democratize the oligarchic transition economies. As an exit strategy from oligarchic capitalism, I recommend that state capitalism be implemented, as a transitory condition only, to divest oligarchs of unlawfully acquired economic power. Then, progressive restructuring of oligarchic companies must be conducted through broadening property ownership to include shared ownership and worker participation in economic decisions. I conclude that only by nurturing the democratic fundamentals of the economy and promoting a social democratic welfare state could a government in post-Euromaidan Ukraine initiate its own social control and create a genuine political and economic democracy.

Racial embodiment and the affectivity of racism in young people’s film

AbstractThis article uses a bodily and affective perspective to explore racial minority young people’s experiences of racism, as enacted (on film) through disgust and enjoyment. Applying Žižek’s ideology critical psychoanalytical perspective and Kristeva’s concept of “abjection”, the article considers race embodied, that is the racial body both partly Real (in the Lacanian sense) and a mean for the projection of ideological meanings and discursive structures, which are sustained by specific fantasies. From this perspective, the film’s affective racism is “symptomatic” of the discrepancies between, on the one hand, Danish social democratic welfare state ideology and a dominating race discourse of “equality-as-sameness”, on the other, the Real of racial embodiment, which makes the encounter with the Other traumatic and obscene. The analysis exposes the bodily and affective underside of race relations (which lead attempts to discursively undo racism to fail) and instead seeks to undermine the fantasies that sustain racial power relations.

What we can learn from the recent foundation funding boom for the Irish non-profit sector?

In Ireland, a 10-year surge in foundation philanthropy is coming to an end. This article examines the role of this philanthropy and in particular its focus on organisations involved in social justice advocacy and supporting social change. The foundations’ focus has shown that it is possible for private giving to enhance the Irish democratic welfare state. With the Irish non-profit sector playing a large role in delivering social services, there is a risk that government encouragement for more private giving while it is imposing swingeing public service cuts could lead to an American liberal model of philanthropy. This approach seeks private charity to facilitate a shrinking of the state’s role. The recent Irish experience demonstrates that, in supporting social justice organisations, foundations can complement rather than substitute for the role of the state.

Causes and Consequences of the Recent European Crisis: Can Polanyi help us understand problems of the Eurozone?

By evoking economic turmoil in Europe, the global crisis of 2007-2008 had important impacts on the economic and political integration of the European Union (EU), leading to a reassessment of the relationship between the core– periphery countries and the model of the ‘democratic European welfare state.’ Most studies that address this problem in the EU focus on the fiscal mismanagement and welfare policies of the non-core or periphery countries (i.e. Greece) as the main culprit. Unlike the mainstream ideas, this paper explains the recent European crisis as a result of the liberalization and deregulation process that started with the second globalization wave in the 1970s. This paper also questions whether the recent radical nationalist trend in the EU countries can be explained as a byproduct of the crisis, using Polanyi’s notion of “double movement”.

Mirror of the state or independent image? – Conceptual perspectives on the question of a legitimacy shift to the output dimension in local democracy

This contribution discusses the theoretical and conceptual implications of asking about the legitimacy of local democracy and the relevance of discussing ‘performance legitimacy’. The role of local government in generating or undermining democratic legitimacy is ambivalent. It is questionable whether there can be something like a genuine legitimacy of local government at all, considering its subordinate and functionalised role in the modern (welfare) state. In the first part of the article, the complexity and controversial status of political legitimacy in general and local government in particular is exposed. It is argued that the effective interplay of justification (giving acceptable reasons for policies) and demonstration (performing successfully by fulfilling promises), which is at the core of generating legitimacy, cannot be deduced from general concepts and fixed in a general model. Generating a self-reinforcing dynamic of public support and linking different dimensions of legitimacy (input, throughput, output) is a matter of reflexive institutionalisation. Being part of a democratic welfare state has provided local governments in Western democracies with a stabilised focus of legitimacy. At the same time, local governments are particularly under pressure to adapt, to innovate and to modernise. Four broader narratives of changing democratic legitimacy sources with respect to local government are discussed. The shift to ‘performance legitimacy’ has to be seen in a wider context of redefining the meaning of (local) democracy as mapped out by the four narratives.

Generational Inequalities and Welfare Regimes

This paper uses a new age period cohort model to show that among cohorts born between 1935 and 1975, cohorts born around 1950 are significantly above the income trend in most countries. However, such inequalities between generations are much stronger in conservative, continental European welfare states, compared to social democratic and liberal welfare states. As we show, this is because conservative welfare states expose some cohorts to high youth unemployment and make lifetime earnings dependent on a favorable entry into the labor market. We thus demonstrate that conservative welfare states have put the burden of adjustment to the post-1975 economic slowdown on birth cohorts that could not get stable jobs before 1975, while similar cohort inequalities are much weaker in liberal and social democratic welfare states. In these latter two welfare regimes, the burden of adjustment to the post-1975 economic slowdown was not put on the shoulders of some cohorts relative to others. Our analysis is the first to show which welfare regimes are more conducive to such inequalities between cohorts and what mechanisms lead to these material cohort inequalities.

Welfare States and the Redistribution of Happiness

We use data from the 2002 International Social Survey Programme, with roughly 42,000 individuals nested within twenty-nine countries, to examine the determinants of happiness in a comparative perspective. We hypothesize that social democratic welfare states redistribute happiness among policy-targeted demographic groups in these countries. The redistributive properties of the social democratic welfare states generate an alternate form of “happiness inequality” in which winners and losers are defined by marital status, presence of children, and income. We apply multilevel modeling and focus on public social expenditures (as percentage of GDP) as proxy measures of state intervention at the macro level, and happiness as the specific measure of welfare outcome at the micro level. We find that aggregate happiness is not greater in the social democratic welfare states, but happiness closely reflects the redistribution of resources in these countries. Happiness is redistributed from low-risk to high-risk individuals. For example, women with small children are significantly happier, but single persons are significantly less happy in the welfare states. This suggests that the pro-family ideology of the social democratic welfare states protects families from social risk and improves their well-being at the cost of single persons. Further, we find that the happiness gap between high- versus low-income earners is considerably smaller in the social democratic welfare states, suggesting that happiness is redistributed from the privileged to the less privileged.

Diesel Subsidy: A Tricky Game for the Government in Coalition Politics

Subsidy is one of the most tricky problems that any policy maker faces, especially in a democratic welfare state where no single party has absolute majority. However, at the same time, they cause some major distortions that may not be visible overtly, but seriously impact the economy not only at the macro level, but also at the micro - level. The present paper specifically looks into diesel subsidy and its impact upon the diesel car industry. The time period chosen for the paper is June 2010 till April 2013. The paper is basically only a theoretical modeling paper and some of the conditions discussed may be hypothetical, but they do help in establishing the boundaries. However, it is to be noted that some data has been used to provide justification for the article. Overall, it was observed that in every scenario, imposition of excise duty on diesel cars somewhere stood justified.

The Impact of Giving on the Recipient: A Summary

Lopamudra Banerjee The Impact of Giving on the Recipient: A Summary IN THE INTE RN AT IO NA L S P H E R E , ONE A SP E C T OF GIVING IS the conferring of aid. Aid entails a voluntary transfer of resources from the donor to the recipient and, by and large, has two objectives. Aid may be directed toward assisting long-term social and economic transforma­ tions of the recipients; aid may also be intended to fulfill the short-term immediate needs for the recipients during a crisis generated by natural disasters, political violence, social strife, or pandemics. In official termi­ nology, the form er is considered development aid, while the latter is considered humanitarian aid. In either case, while the flow of aid may be motivated by altruism, philanthropy, and humane concerns, aid may also serve a strategic purpose for the donors. For example, aid may be used to garner political and military alliances between nation­ states and to indicate diplomatic sanctions. Aid may also be used to provide incentives to the recipient for actions favored by the donor, and to extend the donor’s cultural influence. The essays by Michael Cohen, Nicolas de Torrente, and Joanne Barkan examine the effects of aid by exploring these issues. Cohen looks at the role of development aid from the macro-perspective of the growth and development of the recipient countries and de Torrente the role of humanitarian aid in fulfilling the urgent and criti­ cal needs of the recipients. Barkan addresses the normative aspects of aid flows from nongovernment agencies and large private founda­ tions, especially in context of provisioning public goods in situations where the democratic welfare state is gradually withdrawing from its commitments. social research Vol. 80 : No. 2 : Summer 2013 587 Cohen’s essay highlights how development aid has played a key role in the economic progress and social transitions of countries both recently and historically. Aid facilitated the postwar reconstruction of Japan and Germany, and played a role in the economic restructur­ ing of postcolonial Asia and Africa. Aid has also brought about historic improvements in various indicators of the quality of life, including health and education, in countries where deficiencies in national resources would otherwise have constrained the nation’s efforts to improving the material living conditions of its citizens. The magni­ tude, composition, and donors of development aid have, however, transformed over time. Cohen traces this transformation over the past seven decades, through the postcolonial period and the cold war, to the present-day emergence of new economic powers such as China and the oil-rich countries. The issue of aid flow is, however, not without contention. First and foremost, controversies arise when there is a mismatch in assis­ tance priorities as experienced by the recipient and as perceived by the donor. The problem may be particularly acute in situations in which the recipients cannot negotiate the volume, delivery mechanism, or targeted spheres of support, and in situations in which conditions are attached to aid flows. The second concern is with regard to the accountability of aid use by the recipients. Cohen notes that two philosophical issues may be especially relevant to the donors: first, should aid be allocated on the basis of need or the performance of the recipients in the use of prior aid; and second, should aid be conditioned on the fulfillment of prior condi­ tions? A third major concern is the possible detrimental effects of aid. It has been argued that if aid flows weaken a nation’s sense of self-determi­ nation and progress, a perpetual dependency on the donors can result. This dependency is neither economically sustainable nor is it politically desirable. Cohen notes that while the positive effects of development aid are undeniable, evaluations of the precise nature these impacts over the long run are missing. In the absence of such serious evaluations, the function of aid in facilitating socioeconomic advancements of recipient countries cannot be fully appreciated. 588 social research De Torrenté’s essay emphasizes that aid is not merely a material resource but also a symbolic one. As a material resource, humanitarian aid can play a crucial role in providing support to...

Beyond Christian Democracy? Welfare State Politics and Policy in a Changing CDU

Germany's CDU encapsulates the core dilemma facing all of continental European Christian Democracy. The religiously based brand of welfare capitalism that traditionally set these parties apart is being undermined by broad socio-economic and political trends. Yet resulting pressures to shift towards neoliberalism have run up against public ambivalence, partisan competition, and – above all – a consensual dynamic within Christian Democratic factionalism. In the CDU's case, cross-cutting external pressures on its social market model have undercut a long dominant internal factional coalition, which has made way for shifting, ad hoc internal alliances under a leadership only vaguely committed to the classic Christian Democratic welfare state, yet leery of fully abandoning it. Since 2000 the CDU has thus lurched towards neoliberalism, pulled back, and even embraced some social democratic recipes. This article examines this programmatic and policy experimentation in order to help assess whether Christian Democracy in Germany (and beyond) remains a distinct force, or is instead degenerating into mere opportunistic centrism.

Changing Boundaries: The Policies of Workfare in the U.S. and Europe

AbstractIn recent decades, workfare‐style policies have become part of the institutional architecture of welfare and labor market arrangements around the world. In this article, we offer a comparative, historical view of workfare's advance. Our analysis recognizes the complexity and diversity of what we call the “policies of workfare” and highlights the different paths through which these policies have developed in the U.S. and parts of Europe. We argue that it is necessary to look beyond familiar policy labels and language in order to consider workfare‐style policies as part of a broader political project that is altering the boundary between the democratic welfare state and the market economy. We see workfare policies as boundary‐changing, with potentially profound implications both for individuals disadvantaged by market arrangements and for societies seeking to grapple with the increasing instability and precariousness of work in the “new” economy.

The U.S. Supreme Court and new federalism: from the Rehnquist to the Roberts Court

1. A Notably Conservative Plan of Book 2. Federalism Politics & Policies: Old, New, and Progressive Trends Federalism at the Founding The Evolution of Federalism Jurisprudence The Founding and Nascent Nationalism The Civil War, Dual Federalism and the Rise of Economic Nationalism The Rise of the Democratic Welfare State Through Cooperative Federalism The Judicial Role in New Federalism Politics 3. The Rehnquist Court, New Federalism, and States' Rights The Politics of New Federalism Rehnquist New Federalism Revolutionary and Counter-Revolutionary Trends Dormant Commerce Clause Process Federalism and Clear Statement Rules New Federalism and the Constitutional Culture 4. Federalism, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Religious Freedom in the States The Rehnquist Court and Religious Liberty Justice Clarence Thomas and Establishment Clause Federalism Historical Roots and Contemporary Approaches to Establishment Clause Federalism Assessing Establishment Clause Federalism The Constituencies of Establishment Clause Federalism Congress and the Executive Recent Developments in Federal Law The Executive Branch State and Local Governments Interest Groups Churches Public Opinion and American Religious Life Religious Liberty, Federalism, and the Roberts Court 5. Federalism and Globalization Federalism, the Constitution, and Foreign Policy Preemption Structural Shift from Above Structural Change from Below The U.S. Supreme Court Response The Sidelined Court The Confined Court Flexible, Pragmatic Foreign Policy Preemption Divided Court? Conclusion 6. The Roberts Court and New Federalism Federalism and the New Roberts Court Appointments New Directions of Federalism in the Roberts Court Statutory Construction Cases: Preemption Constitutional Cases: The Eleventh Amendment and Commerce Clause Conclusion

A cultural geometry: Designing political things in Sweden

ABSTRACTIn Sweden, a long‐standing and pervasive discourse delineates the significance of design—especially “Swedish design”—within a distinctly political framework. Just as the social democratic welfare state is in large part organized to “care” for its citizens, design in Sweden is supposed to “care” for the users of everyday goods. I explore this claim in several sociocultural domains in which different aspects of Swedish design are reproduced. I also present an argument for working with design and designing as ethnographic objects of inquiry.

Policy and Regulation of Long-Term Care – Exploration of an Uncultivated Field

The article deals with the scarcely examined question as to how welfare state policy and regulation are related to the quantity and quality of long-term care services. The analysis carried out here supports evidence of a positive influence of social democratic welfare state regimes on the public spending and supply rates of care services. Beside that and a path dependent development recently also a trend towards the convergence of welfare state regimes began, mostly with the conservative regimes catching up. In general there is a trend towards strengthening home care and regulated markets with private for profit suppliers. The importance of regulation and supervision by the state is emphasized through comparative studies from the USA, showing the positive influence of the intensity of controls on the quality of care services. However, despite supervision, (similar to Europe) the number of serious deficiencies remains high and defects often occur without effective consequences. As background it should be emphasized that there is no sufficient, decisive long-term care policy – also in the USA, where relatively strong age-related organizations are reported. Nevertheless, the political background and effects of welfare state regulation in its various forms remain unclear. In this respect, more research into care policy and the effects of welfare state regulation on the quality of care services is necessary.