This article discusses recent research on party politics and the welfare state that differs from
traditional 'partisan politics theory'. The traditional approach states that left-wing and right …

The question of whether political parties make a systematic difference in terms of public
policies is one of the classics of comparative public policy research. However, unstable …

The article explores the intersections between the different perspectives of institutional and
policy research and discusses the characteristic purposes and conditions of theory-oriented …

Since the publication of Pierson's seminal work, a scholarly debate about welfare state
retrenchment has emerged. One of the debated issues has been the “dependent variable …

The article represents a preliminary and partial analysis of information collected in a
comparative project on the adjustment of employment and social policies in twelve …

Despite the scepticism that increasingly surrounds their role and standing in contemporary
democracies, scholarly interest in political parties continues unabated. But this interest is …

This article investigates market‐type reforms of the service welfare states in Sweden and
Denmark. Sweden has implemented such reforms to a greater extent than Denmark. The …

SoPhi on julkaissut akateemisesti korkeatasoista filosofista ja yhteiskuntatieteellistä
kirjallisuutta vuodesta 1995. Kirjoittajamme ovat kansainvälisesti ansioituneita tutkijoita …

5.1 Adoption of welfare programmes in European countries, 1890–1920 81 5.2
Consolidation of welfare states in 1920 84 5.3 Welfare states in 1930 86 5.4 Welfare states …

Why and how do political actors pursue risky welfare state reforms, in spite of the institutional
mechanisms and political resistance that counteract change? This is one of the key puzzles …