Comparative Welfare State Politics

Kees van Kersbergen and Barbara Vis explain the political opportunities and constraints of welfare state reform in advanced democracies.

In this book, Kees van Kersbergen and Barbara Vis explain the political opportunities and constraints of welfare state reform by asking 'big' questions relating to the historical development of the welfare state, the different types of welfare regimes, and the politics of welfare state reform.

Introduction. The political opportunities and constraints of welfare state reform; 1. The welfare state: dynamic development, crisis, resilience, and change; 2. The logics of the welfare state: why did we need a welfare state in the first place and how did we get it?; 3. Welfare state regimes: why did we get different worlds of welfare and do we still have them?; 4. What do welfare states actually do? How welfare states protect against social risks and fight poverty and inequality; 5. Toward an open functional approach to welfare state reform; 6. Why do we need to reform the welfare state?: Part I. Globalization as a functional pressure coming from the outside; 7. Why do we need to reform the welfare state: Part II. Post-industrial society and the functional pressures to reform coming from within; 8. Why do politicians and governments pursue risky reforms?; 9. Can and will the welfare state survive the great recession?