The Politics of the New Welfare State

With this book, we would like to move beyond a simple characterisation of this emerging settlement in terms of “newness”. On the basis of the most recent advances in welfare state research, our first objective is to gain a better understanding of the welfare settlement that is emerging in Europe. What role is the welfare state playing in today’s post-industrial society? To what extent are welfare states shifting away from the provision of income protection and towards social investment? Our second objective refers to the politics of this transformation. We are interested in finding out what are the mechanisms and trajectories that lead to the new welfare state. What role are the key political actors playing? How do they position themselves in the new social policy arena