Why corporatism persists: Domestic politics, not Europeanization
The death of corporatist policymaking — in which governments negotiate reforms with trade unions and employers — is greatly exaggerated in Western Europe, say Alexandre Afonso of the Max Planck Institute and Yannis Papadopolous of the University of Lausanne. In the current issue of Governance, Afonso and Papadopolous explain the persistence of the corporatist model in Austria and Switzerland. They reject the notion that European integration has given the critical boost to corporatism. The better explanation is found in the structure of national politics. Corporatist policymaking is a tactic for building support for difficult reforms that is relied upon by governments lacking strong legislative majorities. “The configuration of party coalitions,” Afonso and Papadopolous conclude, is “the main causal trigger of corporatist strategies of policymaking.” FREE ACCESS to this article.
