Social transformation and the question of post-socialist welfare regimes in contemporary Eastern Europe

As part of the economic and social transformation in the region since 1989 the provision of welfare and access to it by different social groups has undergone significant changes. The overall outcome has been a decrease in the extent of universal state welfare provision, an increasing reliance on welfare assistance benefits that are generally not provided at levels above the poverty threshold, and in provision by non-state institutions and groups in civil society, and informal support through communities, families and households. Consequently there have been growing inequalities in access to welfare. Taking these changes into account, there has been a growing literature aimed at developing a new conceptualisation of the emerging welfare regime(s) in the region that goes beyond existing ideal types of welfare. A central concern in this literature has been to assess the relevance to CEE of the ideal types of welfare regime developed by Esping Andersen for the OECD old member countries and the adaptations and supplementary types introduced by scholars subsequently. A debate has emerged on the question of whether the existing ideal types apply to the current situation in the CEE countries or whether a new postsocialist welfare regime, or a range of different postsocialist welfare regimes have emerged. Within this framework the paper will explore the question of whether the emerging patterns of provision can be characterized in terms of the concept of a new post-socialist type of welfare regime.