The Welfare State, Globalization and Internal Sociopolitical Dynamics: The Case of North America

• Main Author: Ilán Bizberg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Les Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme 2016-12-01
• Series: Socio
• Subjects: social protection system; globalization; neoliberalism; North America; United States; Mexico
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/socio/2530

This article analyses the transformation of the social protection system in the three countries of North America under globalization and NAFTA. Contrary to what was predicted would happen, there has not been a unique process of homogenization of the economic and the social security configurations of the three countries to conform with those existing in the United States. Although there have been some homogenizing tendencies, many differences persist. The explanation is basically due to the fact that globalization is not an impersonal force that imposes itself on countries, but a socioeconomic arrangement that real actors, both external and internal try to enforce. Most studies analyze the internal causes of the status quo preservation of a welfare system through dependence on institutional paths. This article not only centers on institutions but also on the ways in which actors pursue changes or resist them.