National welfare state models in the face of European integration

Bibliographic Data

ID11345379
AuthorsPekka Kosonen (University of Helsinki, corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume15
Issue1-3
Pages47-54
Publication date1992-12-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory of European Ideas (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0191-6599 • E-ISSN: 1873-541X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/0191-6599(92)90110-x
OpenAlexW2023547856
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

It could be argued that the idea’of the welfare state is particularly European, although it is more difficult to specify this idea. Historical sociologists seem to conclude that there is no such thing as the idea of the welfare state; rather there are a host of versions incorporating different types of institutional arrangement (Alber 1988: 452). Thus, the welfare state should be treated historically, i.e. as a response to the process of industrialisation and the formation of wage labor in order to promote the security and equality of citizens. Despite these differences in time and space, some basic features of the welfare state can be distinguished, many of which are related to concepts such as nationstate, citizenship, and social integration. We live in a world of nations. We all (or almost all) belong to one nation or another. Why? Simply because we are born into it; in fact, the word nation comes from the Latin nasci meaning to be born. Logically, every nation has the right to its own state. Is this where the origins of nation-states and nationalism lie? They may in part, but many nation-states also consist of a combination of nations whose rediscovered national histories provide the space-time co-ordinates of the nation (Taylor 1989: 171-180). What is interesting here is the relationship between nation-state and citizenship. Citizenship refers basically to formal membership of the state, which is based on membership of the nation. This is a decisive issue in the case of minorities and immigrants, even today. However, the concept of citizenship has been extended to refer also to a wide array of civil, political and social rights-this may be called a substantive definition of citizenship rather than a formal one. The success of a nation-state depends not only on its military force, but also on the economic and social conditions which prevail. Every state must try to mobilise its own population, because the strength of the state in relation to other states depends (also) on the level of development of the national production system and the integration of society. This has been one basis for the development of social citizenship during the last hundred years or so. It may be argued that, at least after Wold War II in Europe, a developed nation-state is indicative of a developed welfare state. However, the extension of citizens’ rights has not been an automatic process nor has it happened in the same way in all industrialised countries. There are

Citizenship · Epistemology · Law and economics · Meaning (existential · Nation state · National identity · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Welfare state · European Union Policy and Governance · Law

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