The Electoral Consequences of Third Way Welfare State Reforms: Social Democracy’s Transformation and its Political Costs (Changing Welfare States)

In Recent Decades, Western Nations Have Increasingly Implemented Encompassing Welfare State Reforms That Try To Establish Equality Through Social Programs And Governmental Intervention Rather Than Direct Redistribution Of Funds. In This Book, Christoph Arndt Examines The Political Ramifications Of Reforming Deeply Entrenched Welfare States Through A Careful Comparative Analysis Of Four European Countries That Recalibrated Their System Of Social Protection Under Social Democratic Governments. Arndt Discovers That The Third Way Has Produced A Setback For Social Democrats And That The Nature And Scale Of This Setback Is Contingent On Each Country’s Electoral System. -- 1 Introduction 23 -- 1.1 Empirical Puzzle 23 -- 1.2 The Arguments In Brief 27 -- 1.3 Structure Of The Book 29 -- 2 Theoretical Background 33 -- 2.1 The Political-economic And Societal Background To Third Way Policies 33 -- Social Democracy's Transformation Towards The Third Way 35 -- 2.2 Social Policy And The Welfare State As A Base For Social Democratic Alignment 37 -- 2.3 Welfare State Reform As A Catalyst For Partisan Dealignment 41 -- Comparison Of Traditional Social Democratic And Third Way Social Policy 43 -- 2.4 Decommodification, Social Class And Conceptualising The Social Democratic Core Constituency 46 -- 2.5 Political System, Party Competition And Welfare Reforms 50 -- The Impact Of The Electoral System For The Electoral Effects Of The Reforms 50 -- Competitor Parties For Social Democracy After Third Way Reforms Under Pr 52 -- Challenge From The Left 53 -- Challenge From The Right 55 -- Credibility Considerations And The Prospects For Challenger Parties 57 -- Mainstream Parties As Potential Challengers 59 -- 2.6 Social Democracy And Declining Class Voting 60 -- 3 Design And Methods 65 -- 3.1 Case Selection And Strategy Of Comparison 65 -- 3.2 Analysis Of Reforms 69 -- 3.3 Analysis Of The Electoral Consequences Of Reforms 72 -- 3.4 Data Sources For The Statistical Analysis 74 -- 3.5 Organisation Of Chapters 74 -- 4 United Kingdom 77 -- 4.1 The Social Policy Of The Labour Party 78 -- 4.2 Alignment Of The Social Democratic Core Constituency In The United Kingdom 80 -- 4.3 Welfare State Reforms In Britain Under New Labour, 1997-2005 81 -- 4.4 Party Competition Around Welfare State Reforms, 1997-2005 85 -- 4.5 Data And Variables 88 -- 4.6 Results 89 -- Attitudes Towards Labour's Policy And Voting Behaviour After 1997 89 -- Electoral Effects Of Labour's Policy Change, 1997-2001 92 -- Electoral Effects Of Labour's Policy Change, 2001-05 93 -- 4.7 Conclusion 94 -- 5 Germany 99 -- 5.1 The Social Policy Of German Social Democracy 100 -- 5.2 Alignment Of The Social Democratic Core Constituency In Germany 101 -- 5.3 Welfare State Reforms In Germany And Their Political Context, 1998-2009 104 -- 5.4 Party Competition On Welfare State Reforms In Germany, 1998-2009 110 -- 5.5 Data And Variables 113 -- 5.6 Results 115 -- Attitudes Towards Reform Proposals And Actual Reforms 115 -- First Red-green Cabinet, 1998-2002 118 -- Second Red-green Cabinet, 2002-05 119 -- The Spd In The Grand Coalition, 2005-09 121 -- 5.7 Conclusion 123 -- 6 Denmark 127 -- 6.1 The Social Policy Of Social Democracy In Denmark 128 -- 6.2 The Traditional Core Constituency Of Danish Social Democracy 130 -- 6.3 The Labour Market Reforms Under Social Democratic Governments, 1993-2001 132 -- 6.4 Party Competition And Welfare State Reforms, 1993-2001 138 -- 6.5 Data And Variables 141 -- 6.6 Results 142 -- Attitudes Towards Reform Proposals And Party Choice After 1993 142 -- Alignment Of Sd's Core Constituency, 1994-98 145 -- Alignment Of Sd's Core Constituency And Breakthrough Of The Danish People's Party, 1998-2001 147 -- 6.7 Conclusion 149 -- 7 Sweden 153 -- 7.1 The Swedish Social Democratic Party And Its Social Policy 154 -- 7.2 The Core Constituency Of Swedish Social Democracy 157 -- 7.3 The Third Road, Crisis Responses And Welfare State Reforms In The 1980s And 1990s 159 -- 7.4 Party Competition In Sweden, 1991-2006 167 -- 7.5 Data 171 -- 7.6 Analysis 171 -- Attitudes Towards Labour Market Reform Proposals And Party Shares 171 -- The Electoral Punishment After The Crisis, 1994-98 174 -- The Sap's Recovery And The Left Party's Setback, 1998-2002 176 -- 7.7 The Sap's Electoral Fortunes In Opposition 178 -- 7.8 Conclusion 179 -- 8 Comparative Summary 183 -- 8.1 General Expectations And Summary Of Findings 183 -- The Role Of The Electoral System For The Electoral Effects Of The Reforms 185 -- The Role Of Party Competition For The Electoral Effects Of The Reforms 187 -- 8.2 Discussion Of Rival Explanations 192 -- 9 Discussion 201 -- 9.1 Applicability Of Arguments To Other Countries 202 -- 9.2 Contribution To Existing Literature And Political Implications 204 -- 9.3 Implications For Future Research On Social Democracy 208. Christoph Arndt. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 249-273) And Index. In all advanced Western nations, policy-makers have implemented encompassing welfare state reforms in recent decades breaking with past welfare arrangements. In particular, social democracy engaged in significant policy change under the Third Way paradigm and broke with its traditional reputation on welfare that had built the ties with the core constituency in the 20th century. The Electoral Consequences of Third Way Welfare State Reforms: Social Democracy?s Transformation and its Political Costs provides a comparative study of the electoral consequences of Third Way welfare state reforms. The book demonstrates that Third Way reforms went against the social policy preferences of social democracy?s core voters and indeed produced an electoral setback for social democrats at the ballots. Moreover, and accounting for cross-national variation, the analysis shows that the nature of the setback is contingent on the electoral system and the party competition social democrats face when reforming the welfare state. Dit boek analyseert de electorale gevolgen van de hervormingen in de welvaartsstaat in vier liberaal sociaaldemocratische landen in Europa. Deze zogenaamde 'Derde Weg-sociaaldemocraten' hervormden de welvaartsstaat zodanig dat een deel van het sociaaldemocratische electoraat zich definitief van hen afkeerde. Dit is de belangrijkste conclusie van dit boek, waarvoor vergelijkend onderzoek werd verricht in Zweden, Duitsland, Denemarken en Groot-Brittannië

Intended as a textbook, this title is also a supplement to more theoretical works, and a fascinating read for anyone interested in human mind in the extreme circumstances experienced by a crime victim or perpetrator, under the scrutiny of interrogation and cross-examination.