The German Welfare State and Globalisation: The Social Construction of Path Dependency

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Literature review
  • The German welfare state - normative principles and development
  • Economic globalisation and the welfare state - downwards pressure?
  • Retrenchment theory
  • Historical institutionalism
  • Social constructivism
• Case study
  • Is Germany globalised?
  • Globalisation of political discourse
  • Globalisation in media discourse
  • Quantitative change in social spending
  • Qualitative impact
  • The welfare state and popular sentiment
• Discussion
  • Path-dependency versus public discourse?
  • Relation between historical institutionalism and social constructivism
  • The mystery of the nonconstructed reform necessity

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This dissertation examines why economic globalization has not led to significant welfare state retrenchment in Germany, despite widespread claims of such a trend. It seeks to explore the interplay between historical institutionalist and social constructivist perspectives to explain this phenomenon.

• The impact of globalization on the German welfare state
• The role of path-dependency in shaping welfare state policies
• The significance of social construction of public discourse in influencing reform
• The role of political actors, media, and public opinion in shaping perceptions of globalization
• The implications of globalization for the future of the German welfare state

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Introduction: Introduces the research question and outlines the theoretical framework of path-dependency and social constructivism, highlighting their relevance to understanding the German welfare state.
• Literature Review: Provides a comprehensive review of relevant literature on the German welfare state, economic globalization, retrenchment theory, historical institutionalism, and social constructivism.
• Case Study: Examines the empirical evidence of globalization's impact on the German welfare state through an analysis of economic integration, political discourse, media discourse, social spending, qualitative reform measures, and public sentiment.
• Discussion: Discusses the strengths and limitations of the theoretical framework, analyzes the paradox of path-dependency and public discourse, and explores reasons for the absence of significant welfare reform.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The dissertation focuses on the German welfare state, economic globalization, path-dependency, social constructivism, public discourse, political economy, media discourse, social spending, and public opinion.