Protest Events, Welfare Generosity, and Welfare State Regimes
A Comparative Analysis of Welfare States and Social Unrest
in ContentionSearch for other papers by David Pritchard in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
All currencies in US Dollar
Abstract
This article examines data from the Cross-National Time-Series Data Archive and the Comparative Welfare Entitlements Dataset on protest events, levels of welfare generosity (the extent to which welfare protection is provided by non-market actors), and welfare state regimes in 18 advanced industrialized countries across the period 1971–2002. Using a direct measure of protest events in terms of frequency of riots, demonstrations, general strikes, political assassinations, and attempted revolutions, the article finds that there is a significant relationship between welfare generosity, welfare state regimes, and protest events. The findings demonstrate that more extensive welfare arrangements—conceptualized through the use of empirical data—not only ameliorate social disadvantages and thus legitimate market economies and capital accumulation, but also bring about stability and social order.
Contributor Notes
David Pritchard is Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth. His research interests are interdisciplinary with particular reference to the dynamics of contemporary urban societies and social problems. David has written and co-edited the book Riot, Unrest and Protest on the Global Stage (2014). The book seeks to come to terms with riots, rioting, and other forms of civil unrest in a way that transcends individual instances and superficial appearances. The book examines a number of factors and competing discourses associated with civil unrest and is interdisciplinary in character. Email: david.pritchard@port.ac.uk.