The Political Sociology of the Welfare State: Institutions, Social Cleavages, and Orientations: Studies in Social Inequality

A comparative analysis of the political attitudes, values, aspirations, and identities of citizens in advanced industrial societies, this book focuses on the different ways in which social policies and national politics affect personal opinions on justice, political responsibility, and the overall trustworthiness of politicians. How have socio-political orientations changed in recent years? How do national institutions impact people’s attitudes and values? Is there a correlation between orientations and changing social stratification patterns? How are attitudes translated into action under different institutional arrangements? What impact do new supranational institutions have on the orientations of mass publics?

Until now, these themes have not received much attention from scholars. With clarity and insight, this book, drawing on the extensive high-quality databases created over the last decade stemming from the International Social Survey Program and the European Social Survey, makes an important contribution to the growing literature of theoretically informed comparative work.