Introduction

In recent decades, policymakers in all advanced Western nations have implemented encompassing welfare state reforms, breaking with past welfare arrangements. Social democracy, in particular, engaged in significant policy change under the Third Way paradigm (Giddens 1998; Cuperus et al. 2001; Green-Pedersen et al. 2001; Clasen 2002; Bonoli & Powell 2004; Merkel et al. 2008; Huo 2009; Randall & Sloam 2009; Keman 2011). The transformation and modernisation of social democracy under Third Way agendas was a successful strategy in the early and mid-1990s, as many social democratic parties regained power after often long periods in opposition (Cuperus & Kandel 1998; Powell 2004). The Third Way was an explicit appeal to new voters from the centre ground, using well-known labels such as New Labour in Britain or ‘die Neue Mitte’ (the New Centre) in the case of the German social democratic party (spd). In office, the new agenda became visible as Third Way social democracy introduced welfare state reforms that broke with social democracy’s traditional reputation on welfare, with which ties with its core constituency in the 20th century had been forged (Esping-Andersen 1985, 1990; Bonoli & Powell 2004; Merkel et al. 2008; Huo 2009). ¹