ABSTRACT
In Western Europe, Austria was a pioneer of social policy. Already in the 1880s, during the (double) monarchy, the first insurance schemes were founded, and social policy was constantly expanded in the next century. Today, Austria is among the richest countries in the world, equipped with an extensive welfare system. Austria is also a federal state, established in 1920, after democracy had been introduced. The question may be posed how the two basic concepts of the welfare state and federalism have interacted, all the more as they seem to contradict each other. Even if we acknowledge that different welfare regimes must be distinguished (Esping-Andersen, 1990), we can say that the welfare state aims more or less at uniformity of (at least minimum) social protection for all citizens. Contrary to this, the raison d’être of federal systems is to preserve diversity (ethnic, cultural, linguistic, etc.), present in a country, under a common umbrella.
