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Nation State and Social Policy: An Ideational and Political History

Introduction to the Book Series “German Social Policy”

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Variations of the Welfare State

Part of the book series: German Social Policy ((GSP,volume 5))

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Abstract

Advances in social policy were often related to processes of nation-building, like the introduction of social insurance by Chancellor Bismarck during the years 1883–1889 which contributed to the social integration of the new German Empire. The Empire had been created through the unification of the numerous German states in 1871. Critical periods in a country’s history that went along with a renewal of the national spirit also propelled social reform, like the New Deal during the Great Depression in the 1930s and the creation of the British “welfare state” in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Today, the golden age of the welfare state, the decades after WW II, has passed. Domestic problems combine with the impact of globalisation. Some authors assume that globalisation makes nation states increasingly irrelevant. What, then, is a history of a national welfare state as presented in this book series good for in the contemporary debate?

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In addition, “social state” is a term of German constitutional law denoting the “social” obligation of the state. Therefore, Kaufmann and Zacher (volumes 1, 3 and 5) use the term “social state” rather than “welfare state” when they refer to Germany. The other authors of the series mostly use the Anglo-Saxon term “welfare state”, which is also used as a theoretical term by German scholars. See Ritter (volume 4, footnote 64) for further explications of the terms.

  2. 2.

    In 1994, Kaufmann devised the concept of “Steuerungsstaat” independently of the concept “enabling state” which Gilbert and Gilbert had introduced 5 years earlier. The two concepts are akin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for World Society Studies, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany

    Prof. Lutz Leisering Ph.D. (Faculty of Sociology)

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  1. Prof. Lutz Leisering Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Lutz Leisering Ph.D. .

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Leisering, L. (2013). Nation State and Social Policy: An Ideational and Political History. In: Variations of the Welfare State. German Social Policy, vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22549-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22549-9_1

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