The increased globalisation of the world economy and the collapse of communism as a social system have introduced new challenges facing national policy formulation. The nation-state has been weakened, as it is much less the master of its... more
The increased globalisation of the world economy and the collapse of communism as a social system have introduced new challenges facing national policy formulation. The nation-state has been weakened, as it is much less the master of its own destiny. Even in traditionally strong national policy areas such as welfare, this development can be felt and seen. In what way has the recent global economic and political changes influenced social policy making in Europe? What are the major changes in social policy in Eastern and Western Europe in the last decades? What are the future prospects of social welfare systems on our continent? These are the major questions that we aim to address in this paper. First we describe the more general context of political and economic transformation with relation to social policy. Such concepts as ‘globalisation’ and ‘welfare state’ are discussed. Hereafter, we take a closer look at the developments in three European countries with very different welfare traditions, namely Germany, Romania and Sweden. Considering the differences between these countries, we believe they can help us to see that there are similar challenges facing all countries, at the same time as they operate within their own specific context and have very different problems and responses. In the conclusion, we discuss the future potential outlook for European welfare states in general, and for Germany, Romania and Sweden in particular.
