The historiography of «welfare state» and «European social model»

The article presents a general overview of analytical literature on European welfare state and EU social policies. The overview covers the following periods: 1960-1980s, 1990s, and nowadays. It reflects respectively the evolution of academic thinking on European social policies as part of political governance. The deepening of the European integration and the process of internationalization of national economic markets in 1960s produced changes in EEU member states' social programs. The classic concept of «welfare state» underwent revision, and political science researchers introduced the empirical comparative method of social policy analysis. The main challenge was to determine the phenomenon of «social policy» and its elements. A definition of social policy as a principle that governs action directed towards given ends considering non-economic factors in human relations, through semantic, anthropological and philosophical approaches, was given by R. Titmuss. He explains why social factors count in decision-making process and why the state takes an active part in social regulation in many democratic countries like France. A «classical» definition of social policy as a cornerstone of universal workers' rights was proposed by Th. Marshall, referring «to the policy of government with regard to action having a direct impact on the welfare of the citizens, by providing them with services or income». A detailed presentation of social policy phenomenon that combines principles of political economy and political sociology was given by H. Wilensky. He introduced a concept of «policy profiles» including such elements as collective bargaining, budgetary spending, economic performances, government legitimacy, labor guaranties, and level of healthcare. The «policy profiles» category allows to compare differences and similarities of national social policies and to obtain a comprehensive analysis of social programs. A theory of «social regulation» widespread in France was proposed by J.-D. Reynaud. He makes comparison between countries in various social fields according to their respective lifecycle. In 1980-1990s the research moves towards an analysis of national social policies in macroeconomic perspective, as the economic and monetary integration of the EEC deepens with the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. Since then, works on social policy pay even more attention to the correlation of economic and social policies between the EU and its member states. The object of study is rather «vague» in the early literature, but nowadays there are attempts to define the EU «social dimension» according to two main political views, realist and neo-functionalist. Debates pursue as to whether the European social policy is an independent political field or an «adjustable variable» of the economic and monetary integration. The comparative approach in social modeling remains, as attest the attempts to classify European countries' social models by sociologist G. Esping-Andersen. But any classification is a subject to revision, due to the financial crisis in the Euro zone. Most of the research papers bring attention to new European social issues: collective bargaining, social dialogue, mobility of workers, integration of entrepreneurship into the single market, job guarantees, and corporate governance. A broad range of European and Russian think-tanks and research centers provide with a comprehensive analysis of challenges and solutions of the «Social Europe».

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