Welfare state, Welfare state studies, Discourse theory, Workfare
Abstract
This paper aims to direct discourse theory to the study of the modern welfare state. It is claimed that the whole field of welfare state studies is in a miserable state due to the paradoxical lack of theoretical studies and due to the narrow focus on the state, the failure to recognize the discursivity of the welfare state and the one-sided explanations of its historical development. Discourse theory is then introduced as a possible way out of the problems. The differences between Foucault and Laclau-Mouffe are briefly discussed before the concluding section which sketches a number of research possibilities for people who want to use discourse theory in the study of the transition from welfare to workfare.
