Centrist Populism Impacts on Welfare Policies in South-eastern Europe

Though recent researches have discussed various political aspects of the ambiguous relationship between welfare states and populism, the welfare policy-populism nexus has been surprisingly neglected. This study explores how populism has been shaping welfare policies in Southern and Central-Eastern Europe (SCEE) where governing political elites have often followed an adversarial workfare policy agenda under a populist leadership. The paper first conceptualizes populism in policy-making and overviews the possible empirical implications of centrist populism in governance. Then it maps the policy environment of the SCEE welfare policy. Investigating empirically the welfare policy changes, in particular the main policy reforms and the related narratives through documentary analysis and content analysis, the paper explores the particular role of the vulnerability profile of SCEE countries in shaping welfare reforms. The study finally discusses the impacts of adversarial narratives on welfare policy outcome in a political environment dominated by populist actors.