Welfare State, Retrenchment of

Welfare state retrenchment refers to the act of cutting back the welfare state. The central reference point of the scholarly debate on retrenchment remains Paul Pierson’s work. Pierson argues that retrenchment in democratic systems with large systems of social security is so difficult, because benefits tend to be popular and the structure of conflict as well as psychological loss aversion facilitate the mobilization of opposition against retrenchment. The strategies policymakers can use under these conditions to avoid negative electoral repercussions typically involve blame avoidance. Subsequent research has focused on measuring the extent of welfare state retrenchment, the conditions under which electoral punishment occurs and if and how blame avoidance really works.