scholarly journals IDEOLOGY AND WELFARE STATE: HOW POLITICAL PARTIES INFLUENCE SOCIAL POLICY? THE CASE OF NORTH MACEDONIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1343-1348
Author(s):  
Elisabeta Bajrami Ollogu
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

With the collapse of the former SFRY115, citizens, vulnerable groups in particular and the overall Macedonian society had to face the first decade of a prolonged transition, characterized by continuous reforms and rapid changes as a result of the newly emerging social conditions, ideological, political and economic challenges. The first decade of transitional period resulted in chaotic changes not only in the economic system, but in weaker measures of social protection and social security. With increased rates of unemployment, pensions and social security declining, health care services weakened, a number of legislative changes were introduced, both in terms of funding, administration and delivery of social policy services and institutional arrangements of social protection system. However, it has been shown that these policies and laws have not improved the overall situation of social beneficiary users nor have they helped to include them in the labor market.Since the independence of the country, social policies have undergone many changes broadly influenced by demographic factors, low economic growth and ideological ‘preferences’ of political parties governing the country so far. The question that naturally arises is: how much the measures applied have given rise to a positive change for the existence of the welfare state and to what extent it can be estimated that the social policies undertaken were influenced by ideological preferences? What is the legacy with the former state-socialist welfare tradition? Which were the main influences in the establishment of the welfare state in North Macedonia? Methodologically, this research is mainly characterized by literature review with the aim to analyze the social context in which reforms have undergone and being implemented. A document analysis of social policy documents will be used as well.

Religione, valori e welfare state: il caso italiano

2013 ◽  
pp. 45-73
Author(s):  
Ivo Colozzi
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Religious Culture ◽  
Italian Population ◽  
Social Doctrine ◽  
The Social

The article aims to analyze which aspects of the Italian welfare system are influenced (shaped) by the dominant religious culture, i.e. Catholicism. It also investigates whether the mechanism through which this influence has been able to shape the social legislation is represented by religion-inspired political parties or by the capacity of the religious culture to directly influence the value system of the majority of the Italian population. In the latter case even lay political parties and governments did contribute to implement in their social policy choices orientations referable to the dominant religious culture. Our argument unfolds through the following steps: 1) a short reconstruction of the Italian welfare state model; 2) an outline of the main principles of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church on welfare issues and social policy topics; 3) an account of the prevailing values on social issues according the Italian population; 4) an evaluation of how much both the principles and the values are incorporated in the present Italian welfare state system; 5) some final remarks on the mechanism through which the Italian Catholic Church has contributed to determine the social protection system.

Comparative Social Policy and Political Conflict in Advanced Welfare States: Denmark and Sweden

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gøsta Esping-Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

There has developed an abundant literature on the social and political determinants of social policies, but few have addressed the question of how state policies, once implemented, affect the system of stratification in civil society. This article examines the political consequences of social policy in Denmark and Sweden, countries in which a social democratic labor movement has predominated for decades. Superficially, these two highly developed welfare states appear very similar. Yet, the political and social contexts in which their social policies have evolved differ substantially. I shall demonstrate the argument that the traditional welfare state approach may be conducive to a new and powerful political conflict, which directly questions the legitimacy of the welfare state itself, unless government is successful in subordinating private capitalist growth to effective public regulation. In Denmark, where social democratic governments have failed to match welfare state growth with more control of private capital, social policy has tended to undermine the political unity of the working class. Consequently, the Social Democratic Party has been weakened. Social welfare programs, in effect, have helped create new forms of stratification within the working class. In Sweden, social democratic governments have been quite successful in shifting a decisive degree of power over the private market to the state. This has helped avert a crisis of the welfare state, and has also been an important condition for continued social democratic hegemony and working-class unity. I conclude that social reform politics tend to be problematic from the point of view of the future power of social democratic movements.

scholarly journals ESTADO DE BEM-ESTAR SOCIAL: UMA REVISÃO DE LITERATURA

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 906-936
Author(s):  
Fernando da Cruz Souza ◽  
Nelson Russo de Moraes
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The Welfare State

A austeridade permanente e a disputa de quem ganha o quê, quando e como, lógica intrínseca às políticas públicas, colocam as políticas sociais brasileiras em constantes testes. O universalismo tentativo iniciado com a Constituição de 1988 pareceu caminhar para uma ampliação da cidadania social no país, mas tem sofrido constantes ataques por falta de um compromisso de classes em torno de um projeto de país mais ou menos homogêneo. Diante dessa falta de precisão no estabelecimento Estado de Bem-estar brasileiro, em especial, pelo encolhimento no investimento público previsto para os próximos anos e com os governos mais alinhados a maior mercadorização dos serviços sociais, torna-se importante revisitar a trajetória do Welfare State em suas origens e objetivos, a fim de compreender como chegamos até aqui, o que podemos esperar do futuro e quais a intervenções necessárias para que nos aproximemos de uma inclusão sensível do grande contingente de pessoas ainda sujeitas a uma cidadania de segunda classe no Brasil. Para atender a esse objetivo, este trabalho realizou uma revisão bibliográfica convencional sobre o Estado de Bem-Estar Social, elencando a partir dela as razões históricas de seu surgimento, a tipologia de Esping-Andersen, a noção de funcionamentos e capacitações de Amartya Sen e os períodos constitutivos do bem-estar no Brasil.   PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Proteção social. Desenvolvimento. Direitos sociais.     ABSTRACT The permanent austerity and the dispute over who wins what, when and how, logic intrinsic to public policies, puts Brazilian social policies in constant tests. The tentative universalism that began with the 1988 Constitution seemed to be heading for a broadening of social citizenship in the country, but it has been under constant attack for the lack of a class compromise around a homogeneous country project. Given this lack of precision in the establishment of the Brazilian Welfare State due to the shrinking public investment expected in the coming years and with the governments most aligned to the greater commodification of social services, it is important to revisit the trajectory of the Welfare State in its origins and objectives, in order to understand how far we have come, what we can expect from the future and what interventions are needed to bring us closer to a sensitive inclusion of the large contingent of people still subject to second class citizenship in Brazil. To meet this objective, this paper has carried out a conventional bibliographical review of the Welfare State, listing from it the historical reasons for its emergence, Esping-Andersen's typology, Amartya Sen's notion of functioning and capabilities and the constitutive periods of welfare in Brazil.   KEYWORDS: Social protection. Development. Social rights.     RESUMEN La austeridad permanente y la disputa sobre quién gana qué, cuándo y cómo, la lógica intrínseca a las políticas públicas, pone a las políticas sociales brasileñas en pruebas constantes. El tentativo universalismo que comenzó con la Constitución de 1988 parecía dirigirse a una ampliación de la ciudadanía social en el país, pero ha estado bajo ataque constante por la falta de un compromiso de clase en torno a un proyecto de país más o menos homogéneo. Dada esta falta de precisión en el establecimiento del Estado de bienestar brasileño, en particular, debido a la reducción de la inversión pública esperada en los próximos años y con los gobiernos más alineados con la mayor mercantilización de los servicios sociales, es importante revisar la trayectoria del Estado de bienestar en sus orígenes y objetivos, para comprender cómo hemos llegado hasta ahora, qué podemos esperar del futuro y qué intervenciones son necesarias para acercarnos a una inclusión sensible del gran contingente de personas aún sujetas a una ciudadanía de segunda clase en Brasil. Para cumplir con este objetivo, este documento ha llevado a cabo una revisión bibliográfica convencional del Estado del Bienestar, enumerando de él las razones históricas de su surgimiento, la tipología de Esping-Andersen, la noción de funcionamiento y capacidadess de Amartya Sen, y períodos constitutivos de bienestar en Brasil.   PALABRAS CLAVE: Protección social. Desarrollo. Derechos sociales.  

scholarly journals Welfare State Policy Model as A Poverty Reduction Strategy in the West Sumatra Districts and Cities

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
Azwar Azwar Azwar ◽  
Emeraldy Chatra ◽  
Zuldesni Zuldesni
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
State Model ◽  
The West ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
West Sumatra ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Welfare State

Poverty is one of the social problems that the government can never completely solve. As a result, other, more significant social issues arise and cause social vulnerability, such as conflict and crime. As a province that is experiencing rapid growth in the last ten years, the West Sumatra find difficulty to overcome the number of poor people in several districts and cities.  The research outcomes are the models and forms of social policy made by West Sumatra regencies and cities governments in improving the welfare of poor communities. It is also covering the constraints or obstacles to the implementation of social policy and the selection of welfare state models for the poor in some districts and municipalities of West Sumatra. This research is conducted qualitatively with a sociological approach that uses social perspective on searching and explaining social facts that happened to needy groups. Based on research conducted that the social policy model adopted by the government in responding to social problems in the districts and cities of West Sumatra reflects the welfare state model given to the poor. There is a strong relationship between the welfare state model and the form of social policy made by the government.

scholarly journals INFORMATIZATION OF SOCIAL PROVIDING AS A MAIN ELEMENT IN THE FORMATION OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Halyna KULYNA ◽  
Nataliya NALUKOVA
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
The State ◽  
Information Space ◽  
Digital Society ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social

Introduction. In the conditions of digital society formation, the informatization of the social security sphere is a necessary component and guarantee of successful implementation of social policy aimed at quality and timely satisfaction of citizens' needs. Therefore, a prerequisite for the effective functioning of social protection and public service authorities is the development and technical innovation of social services and channels for their implementation through automated information systems, should be consistent with the innovation strategy of development of the social sphere as a composite digital economy of the state. Purpose is to substantiate the expediency of application of the newest digital technologies in the sphere of social security and novelization of social services on this basis, as well as to reveal features and advantages of social protection of the population through automated information systems and channels of their implementation. Results. The necessity and role of informatization in the modern digital society and the main challenges that lead to its implementation in the field of social security have been substantiated. The key automated information systems, which contribute to the construction of a common information space of the social sphere and allow to increase social protection of the population in domestic conditions, as well as the emergence of a new service-oriented social service with a wide range of information and communication services, have been analyzed. The necessity of training and retraining of highly qualified creative specialists of new specialties was noted and generalized principles of systems of skills development in the conditions of informatization, which are important in the selection of social workers, were defined. Conclusions. Social protection and social welfare institutions, when formulating their own strategies, should consider the information and communications technology vector of development as an essential means of improving their functioning, since this will determine the effectiveness of social policy implementation in the State and the level of satisfaction of citizens with social services. The results of informatization of social processes are manifested in the implementation of automated information systems and the construction of a single unified information space of social security, the development of new service products, electronic filing of documentation and simplification of procedures for obtaining social security, transparency of social security and, as a result, successful social policy.

Le vie cristiane della sicurezza sociale. I cattolici italiani e il welfare state

2013 ◽  
pp. 91-120
Author(s):  
Edoardo Bressan
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
State Model ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social State ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Christian Socialism ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Welfare State

In Italy, from the 1930s until the end of the century, the relationship between the Catholic world and the development of the Social state becomes a very relevant theme. Social thought and Catholic historiography issues witness a European civilisation crisis, by highlighting problems of poverty and historical forms of assistance. Furthermore, by following the 1931 Pope Pius XI encyclical Quadragesimo anno these issues interacted with fascist corporativism. After 1945, other key experiences arose, as the discussion on social security as the conclusion of the whole public assistance debate shown. These themes are reported in the Bologna social week works in 1949 and in Fanfani's and La Pira's positions, which present several correspondences with British and French worlds, such as Christian socialism, Reinhold Niebuhr's thought and Maritain's remarks. The 1948 Republican Constitution adopts the Welfare State model assumptions, and it is in those very years that the problem of a system based on a universal outlook arose. Afterwards, governments of coalition led by centre and left-wing parties fostered social security through welfare and health reforms until the '80s. While this model falls into crisis, and new social actors begin to be involved in a context of subsidiarity.

The Social Division of Welfare

2018 ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Richard M. Titmuss
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
Social Betterment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Effective Operation ◽  
Interpretation Of Change ◽  
The Welfare State

This chapter looks at how some students of social policy see the development of ‘The Welfare State’ in historical perspective as part of a broad, ascending road of social betterment provided for the working classes since the nineteenth century and achieving its goal in the present time. This interpretation of change as a process of unilinear progression in collective benevolence for these classes led to the belief that in the year 1948 ‘The Welfare State’ was established. Since then, successive governments, Conservative and Labour, have busied themselves with the more effective operation of the various services. Both parties have also claimed the maintenance of ‘The Welfare State’ as an article of faith.

Social work academia and policy in Sweden

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina H. Thorén ◽  
Pia Tham
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Policy Engagement ◽  
The Welfare State

This chapter examines the engagement of social work academics in the policy process in Sweden. It begins by presenting an overview of social policy and the welfare state in Sweden and by discussing the emergence of the social work profession in that country. The development of social work education in Sweden and its contemporary features are then depicted. Following these, the methodology and the findings of a study of the policy engagement of Swedish social work academics are presented. The findings relate to the levels of engagement in policy and the forms that this takes. The study also offers insights into various factors that are associated with these, such as perceptions, capabilities, institutional support and the accessibility of the policy process. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the findings and their implications.

Social work academia and policy in Germany

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Herz ◽  
Stefan Köngeter
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Policy Engagement ◽  
The Welfare State

This chapter examines the engagement of social work academics in the policy process in Germany. It begins by presenting an overview of social policy and the welfare state in Germany and by discussing the emergence of the social work profession in that country. The unique features of social work education in Germany and the place of policy engagement in the social work discourse are depicted. Following these, the methodology and the findings of a study of the policy engagement of German social work academics are then presented. The findings relate to the levels of engagement in policy and the forms that this takes. The study also offers insights into various factors that are associated with these, such as perceptions, capabilities, institutional support and the accessibility of the policy process. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the findings and their implications.

Social policy outcomes of government participation by radical right parties

2020 ◽  
pp. 135406882092349
Author(s):  
Juliana Chueri
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
The Social ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
The Welfare State

The literature has pointed to a change in radical right-wing parties’ (RRWPs) position regarding the welfare state. Those parties have abandoned the neoliberal approach on distributive issues and have become defenders of social expenditure for deserving groups. Nevertheless, as RRWPs have joined with right-wing mainstream parties to form governments, their distributive policy position might cause conflict in a coalition. This study, therefore, addresses this puzzle by analysing the social policy outcomes of RRWPs’ government participation. The conclusion is that those parties contribute to the welfare state retrenchment. However, policies are not affected evenly. Expenditure that targets groups regarded as undeserving by the radical right is retrenched the most.

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