A global social policy? International and domestic effects on welfare state development in the postcommunist Czech Republic

This project addresses two questions. First, what is the social policymaking process in East Central European states? Which institutions and political organizations have filled the vacuum left after the Communist Party bureaucracy crumbled? The second question is a more specific version of the first: To what extent are international organizations, such as the World Bank and European Union, involved in the postcommunist policymaking process? How much policymaking autonomy do East Central European states maintain? In asking these questions my project joins and contributes to two branches of political science research: studies of West European welfare state development and the emerging literature on Europeanization, more broadly described as the domestic policy effects of international organizations.; The dissertation explores these questions through a case study of Czech social policymaking in three policy areas: family cash transfers, social assistance programs for the poor, elderly and disabled, and gender equity regulations. Data from almost 50 semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the Czech policymaking process and primary source material from other government and nonstate organizations make it possible to construct a model of the Czech policymaking process, identify the key actors, and evaluate the role of international organizations. I test my conclusions from the Czech case by comparing them with the policymaking experience of Poland and Hungary, which I draw from secondary source material.; I conclude that international organizations matter for postcommunist policymaking in at least two ways. First, they create political or material incentives for domestic policy actors to create and pass legislation which, otherwise, would not have been initiated by domestic actors alone. Second, international organizations may lend political and technical support to the domestic actors proposing unpopular legislation.; The nation-state, however, still guides welfare state development and reshapes the recommendations advanced by international organizations. As in Western welfare states, I show that the political party in power affects the type of social policy the state enacts. In contrast to the Western experience, however, interest representation outside of formal political channels such as political parties remain weak and infrequent participants in policy development.