Globalisation, political discourse, and welfare systems in a comparative perspective: Germany, Japan, and the USA

Abstract

The welfare state in industrialised countries is being challenged by a number of developments: the globalisation or internationalisation of the economy, changing demographics, a transformation from industrial to post-industrial economies, as well as social and cultural changes. Although all of these variables are important, this paper addresses only the effects of globalisation on social policy arrangements in the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, and the USA. The starting point of the paper is the hypothesis that the specific perception of globalisation and the constructed links to social policy arrangements within the political discourse must be taken into account when analyzing the effects of globalisation. Furthermore, it is argued that focusing solely on the state's activity within the realm of social policy might lead to distorted and misleading results. Finally, the different dynamics of welfare systems in the era of globalisation are discussed in a broader theoretical framework. It is argued that the concept of path dependency underestimates the changes that have taken place in the German, Japanese, and USA-American welfare systems.