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Social democracy in power: Explaining the capacity to reform

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Zusammenfassung

Dieser Artikel untersucht die sozialdemokratische Regierungspolitik in sechs Ländern vor dem Hintergrund von Globalisierung, Europäisierung und sozialem Wandel. Der Vergleich der Fiskal-, Beschäftigungs- und Sozialpolitik in Deutschland, Großbritannien, Frankreich, den Niederlanden, Schweden und Dänemark offenbart drei Typen sozialdemokratischer Regierungspolitik: modernisierte, liberalisierte und traditionalistische. Diese drei Typen korrespondieren zudem mit einer jeweils spezifischen Leistungsbilanz. Um die beobachteten Politikmuster zu erklären, werden institutionalistische und akteurszentrierte Ansätze diskutiert. Es zeigt sich, dass rein institutionalistische Ansätze nicht geeignet sind, das Ausmaß und die Richtung von Politikwandel zu erklären.

Abstract

This article gives an empirically founded answer to the question of whether classical political goals and instruments of social-democratic governments have been revised in view of the changes induced by the integration into global markets, Europeanization as well as social change. A comparison of fiscal, employment, and social policies of six social-democratic governments in Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark reveals three distinct types of social democratic governments: traditional, modernized, and liberalized social democracy. Each type corresponds to a certain pattern of policy outcomes. In order to explain these policy patterns, the explanatory power of institutional and actor-centred approaches are discussed. The results prove that institutional approaches alone do not explain the extent and direction of policy change.

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Correspondence to Wolfgang Merkel.

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Merkel, W., Petring, A. Social democracy in power: Explaining the capacity to reform. Z Vgl Polit Wiss 1, 125–145 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12286-007-0003-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12286-007-0003-9

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