1 / 12

Social Democratic Regimes (Sweden)

Social Democratic Regimes (Sweden). Dominant Social Democratic parties Centralized states Corporatist interest groups Universal, generous, service-intensive welfare states that promote equality. Conservative Regimes (U.S.). Weak, non-existent working class parties Pluralist interest groups

Download Presentation

Social Democratic Regimes (Sweden)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Social Democratic Regimes (Sweden) • Dominant Social Democratic parties • Centralized states • Corporatist interest groups • Universal, generous, service-intensive welfare states that promote equality

  2. Conservative Regimes (U.S.) • Weak, non-existent working class parties • Pluralist interest groups • Relatively small state sectors • Welfare programs • fewer programs, cover fewer people, offer less generous benefits

  3. Christian Democratic Regimes (Germany) • Religious and class divisions (competitive Social/Christian Democratic parties) • Corporatist interest groups • High welfare spending along occupational lines, which mitigates but reinforces inequalities

  4. Sweden: Politics • Long history of Social Democratic Party (SAP) success; high union membership • Working class positioned to promote interests • First in “Lower-class power” among advanced capitalist democracies • Reformist agenda • Not socialize production, socialize distribution • Form broad coalitions

  5. Sweden: Policies • Democratic Socialist Party (SAP) success • generous, universal, service-oriented welfare state displaces market principles (health and child care) and replaces market incomes (pensions, sick pay, unemployment) • Capitalist system • Full employment • Centralized wage bargaining • Wage solidarity

  6. Sweden: Institutions • Consensual democracy • Power sharing (coalition) governments • Inclusive policy-making process • Proportional representation (PR) electoral system • Parliamentary democracy • Unicameral legislature • Riksdag(post-1971): 349 members; low voter-member ratio (1/25,000); multimember districts • Head of state (ceremonial), King; head of government (real power), PM and cabinet • Executive branch dominant in policy • Unitary system

  7. United States: Politics • Weakest lower-class in all advanced capitalist democracies • 1930s New Deal coalition • Rise of Republicans • South defects over civil rights • Business community rolls-back government regulations • Christian right organizes on moral issues • Conservative white males threatened by dismantling of racial and gender hierarchies • Democratic base=black, low-income, female, liberal, unmarried voters • Republican base=white male, conservative, Southern, high-income voters

  8. United States: Policies • Class matters little in how people vote and a lot in who votes • Gap in participation and power reflected in policy • Extreme market capitalism • Businesses enjoy more autonomy • Small public sector; markets rule • Results of extreme market capitalism mixed • Competitive, prosperous economy • High levels of income/wealth inequality and poverty

  9. United States: Institutions • Fragmented - Federalism, separation of powers (checks and balances) • President • Congress • House – 435 members, district elections, two-year terms; white, male, wealthy; high incumbency rates (>90%) • Senate – 100 members, returned by states, six-year terms; wealthier, even less diverse, representative; more competitive elections (around 75%) • Courts • Policymaking process = Veto-points (places where policy can fail) • Maintain status quo, obstacles in way of disadvantaged who depend on public policies to offset lack of market power

  10. Germany: Politics • Unification (1870s); rapid industrialization • Defeat in WWI, Weimar Republic, first democracy • Occupation produced German Democratic Republic (East Germany, Soviet-controlled) and Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) • GDR: one-party state dictatorship • Reunification in 1990 (with end of Cold War) • West Germany Post-WWII politics marked by class and religious cleavages • Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (broad support) • Social Democratic Party (SPD) (industrial workers) • Ongoing competition for governance between these parties in coalition with others

  11. Germany: Policies • Post-WWII revival under CDU remarkable • State intent on letting markets rule, only “as much state intervention as necessary” • Social market economy • Markets allocate resources; state makes sure it does so in socially responsible way • German Model faltered in 1980s • Growth, jobs declined • Consensus, patience, coordination, incremental change regarded as source of poor performance • Labor market increasingly divided between insiders and outsiders

  12. Germany: Institutions • Federal • Significant authority to EU • Federal Constitutional Court • Powerful, encompassing interest groups • Bicameralism • President (ceremonial), selects party leader to form government • Head of government is chancellor (majority in lower house) • Stable political and party system, consensual decision-making, incremental policy changes

More Related