Wohlfahrtsstaatliche Politiken und ihre kulturellen Grundlagen

The cultural foundations of welfare state policies and their contribution to the development of welfare states are gaining increasing attention in comparative welfare state research. The article introduces reflections on how the impact of cultural factors on the development of welfare state policies can be analysed. “Culture” is conceptualised here as potentially contradictory and subject of negotiations and change. The article includes a proposal to distinguish three different levels with regard to the relationship of welfare culture and welfare state policies. These include the values and models on which welfare state policies are based, the values and models towards the welfare state that are dominant in the population, and the discourses of social actors in relation to such values and models. Using this approach, two different types of processes in ways in which cultural change can contribute to change in welfare state policies can be distinguished.