The EU Transformation of the Social State

This chapter explores different engagements between the 'Social State' and the EU. It begins with the 'Social State' under Embedded Liberalism, the regime articulated by the European Economic Communities between the end of World War II and late 1970s aimed at accommodating state economic and social interventionism and multilateral economic integration. The chapter looks at the 'Social State' under Advanced Liberalism, the regime developed by the Union to cope with the crisis of national social government since the end of 1970s up to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. It examines the relationship between the social state and Authoritarian Liberalism, the regime introduced by the Union to cope with the economic and financial crisis. The chapter discusses that the EU is transforming the 'Social State' by re-orienting its original normative aspirations associated with emancipation from the markets to weaker forms of social policies aimed at enabling market participation or providing a basic safety net for the most vulnerable