The Politics of Welfare and Social Policy Reform

The global economic turmoil has subjected European welfare states to a whole series of new challenges. On the one hand, rising unemployment has increased the number of people in need of social benefits. On the other hand, it has pushed some countries, such as Greece, Ireland or Portugal to drastically retrench their social protection systems in order to restore sustainable state budgets. It has also provided a window of opportunity for political actors in other countries to carry out reforms that are highly unpopular in “normal” times. At the same time, ageing, globalisation, the transformation of employment and family structures or international migration still constitute strong pressures to “adjust” welfare states to a changing socio-economic environment. All these factors have made welfare state reform a central subject of political conflict between political parties, and between employers and trade unions. The section is organised in association with the newly formed ECPR Standing Group on the Politics of Welfare and Social Policy Reform