Crisis imperative : : crisis rhetoric and welfare state reform in Belgium and the Netherlands in the early 1990s / / Sanneke Kuipers.

• Superior document: Changing welfare states
• Author: Kuipers, Sanneke.
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Language: English
• Series: Changing welfare states.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 pages) :; digital, PDF file(s).
• Notes: Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 15 Jan 2021).

Belgium and the Netherlands were perfect examples of the 'welfare without work' policy that characterized European welfare states-until a political crisis in both countries during the early 1990s produced a surprising divergence in administration. While Belgium's government announced major reforms, its social security policy remained relatively resilient. In the Netherlands, however, policymakers implemented unprecedented cutbacks as well as a major overhaul of the disability benefits program. <i>The Crisis Imperative</i> explains this difference as the result of crisis rhetoric-that is, the deliberate construction of a crisis as the imperative for change. It will be a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and anyone interested in welfare reform in the United States and abroad.

Table of Contents

Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. The Crisis Imperative -- 2. Crisis and Change -- 3. Comparing Social Security Crises: Design and Method -- 4. "Nothing as Permanent as a Temporary Arrangement"1: Belgian Policy Making on Unemployment Benefits -- 5. Global Pacts and Crisis Plans -- 6. The Sticky State and the Dutch Disease -- 7. Crisis Narratives and Sweeping Reforms -- 8. The Politics of Crisis Construction -- Notes -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Interview Respondents -- Bibliography -- Index