Institutional framework of social integration: theoretical approaches of varieties of welfare states

Abstract

Abstract It is impossible to understand the processes of integration and disintegration in the Hungarian society without analysing institutional changes of the post-socialist transformation as a whole. In the present study, our aim is to sketch a theoretical framework suitable to interpret these institutional changes. By doing so, we largely rely on the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ literature, and within this theoretical stream, special focus was given to studies analysing integrative and disintegrative mechanisms in Central Eastern Europe, and in Hungary. We also put special emphasis on the analyses aimed to better understand the labour market, educational and welfare system and their role in social integration during the transformation process. So far, social sciences proved to be unable to give coherent interpretation of this transformation, and we can’t compensate for this shortage either. Instead, we tried to formulate questions the answer to which may help to understand and analyse the processes of integration and disintegration in the Hungarian society. Keywords: social integration, welfare state, post-socialist transformation, labour market