Welfare as a Means for Political Stability: A Law and Society Analysis
| Date | 01 June 2012 |
| Author | Rustamjon Urinboyev,Karsten Åström,Måns Svensson |
| Published date | 01 June 2012 |
| DOI | 10.1177/138826271201400201 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
64 Intersentia
WELFARE AS A MEANS FOR POLITICAL
STABILITY: A LAW AND SOCIETY ANALYSIS
M S*, R U**
and K Å***
Abstract
ere have been extensive discu ssions in academic circles of why some countrie s develop
into welfare states while others do not. Two main factors mentioned in these discus sions
are economic growth and the need for political stability. In these discu ssions, the example
of Sweden, where the welfare state allegedly eme rged from a ‘culture of consensus’, has
o en been treated as an historic e xception. In this article we discuss the rele vance of the
two main factors suggested in the literature, and investigate whether Sweden is a rare
case of a country where welfare arose out of a culture of con sensus or if welfare in Sweden
emerged as a product of strategie s that aimed at promoting political stability, and thereby
followed a similar pattern to other Western European countries. In undertaking this
task, we have conducted a review of the literature and used Migdal’s ‘state-in-society’
perspective and the ‘ institutional approach’ as a theoretical f ramework. Our results can
be summarised under three he adings: (a) until the mid-twentieth century, Sweden was
a highly unstable, con ict-rid den class society, and thereby a followed similar pat tern to
other Western European countries; (b) welfare reforms in Swed en were introduced as a
means of addressing political and soci al instability; (c) Sweden is therefore no ex ception
to the theory that deep politica l crises trigger welfare reform s.
Keywords: labour history; law and society; political stability; social policy; Sweden;
welfare
* Dr. Måns Svensson is a Res earcher in the Dep artment of Sociolo gy of Law, Faculty of So cial Sciences ,
Lund University, Sweden. Addre ss: P.O. Box 42, SE-221 00, Lund, Sweden; e-mail : mans.svensson@
soclaw.lu.se; phone: +4 6-(0)46–222 85 93.
** Rustamjon Urinboye v is a PhD candidat e in the Depar tment of Sociology of L aw, Faculty of
Social Scienc es, Lund University, Sweden. Address: P.O. Box 42, SE-221 00, Lund , Sweden; e-mail
rustamjon.ur inboyev@soclaw.lu.se; phone: + 46-(0)46–222 37 99.
*** Professor Kars ten Åström (correspondi ng author) is Professor in Soc iology of Law at Lund
University and Dire ctor of PhD Studies in the Depa rtment of Sociology of Law, Faculty of S ocial
Sciences, Lund Univer sity, P.O. Box 42, SE-221 00 , Lu nd, Sweden, E-mail: ka rsten.astrom@soclaw.
lu.se; phone: +46 -(0)46-222 41 27.
Welfare as a Means for Polit ical Stabilit y: A Law and Society A nalysis
European Jour nal of Social Secu rity, Volume 14 (2012), No. 2 65
1. INTRODUCTION
ere have been extensive discussions in academic circles of why some countries
develop into welfa re states while others do not (Cameron 1978; Esping-Andersen
1990; Flora and Heidenheimer 1981; erborn 1983; Titmuss 1958). Two main factors
mentioned in these discussions are economic growth a nd the need for political
stability. Studies cla im that when countries become richer, they are more likely
to expand the scope and coverage of their welfare programmes (see e.g. Cameron
1978; Castles 2000; Cutright 1965; Wilensky 1975). Another account gleaned from
the scholarly literatu re claims that the more political ly unstable countries become,
the more likely they are to broaden t he scope and coverage of their welfare systems
(see e.g. Alesina and Glaeser 2004; Esping-Andersen 1990; Myles 1984; Wilensky
1975).
In these discu ssions, where it is argued that the welfare state i n Sweden emerged
from a ‘culture of consensus’, the Swedish case is t reated as a historical exception.
In a literature review by Nyzell (2009) it is argued that scholars like Åberg (1998),
Österberg (1989, 1993) and ullberg and Östberg (2006) described Sweden as a
country whose domestic pol itics in early modern and modern h istory were shaped by
non-violent ideas, a spirit of consensus and a wil lingness to compromise. ullberg
and Östberg (2006), for example, argue that the transition from an agricultural to
an industrialised ‘welfare’ societ y in Sweden was ‘swi but peaceful – there have
been no revolutions – and, from a foreign point of view, at least, political unity has
been strik ing’. Likew ise, Eva Österberg (1989, 1993) argued that the ‘Swedish model’
had its roots in a political culture of negotiation and consensus going back to the
sixteenth century. Similarly, Lars Magnusson (1996, 2006 cited in Nyzell 20 09: 111)
claimed that ‘socia l and political con ict and collect ive violence were virtually non-
existent in 20th century Sweden…’. ese interpretations imply that Sweden always
was a land characterised by the ‘culture of consensus’, and that t he welfare state
naturally and peacefully emerged from a society where social unrest was virtually
non-existent.
In this art icle we discuss the relevance of the two main factors (economic
growth and the need for political stabilit y) suggested in the literature and also
ask whether Sweden really i s an example of a welfare state that emerged as a result
of consensual principles and values. In so doing, we try to re ect critically on the
literature t hat indicates that security and stabilit y threats were largely absent i n
Sweden during its transition from an agricultural to an industrialised ‘welfare’
society. We thereby challenge the dominant view that the development of welfare
in Sweden can be regarded as u nrepresentative of Western Europe as a whole. In
trying to accomplish this task, we have conducted a literature rev iew and drawn
on the ‘state-in-society’ perspective and the ‘institutional approach’ to provide a
theoretical framework.
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