Survival of the Welfare State gives a novel perspective on the condition of European welfare states. The challenges to the welfare state are indisputable, ranging from changing demographic, social and family structures to high levels of unemployment, rising entitlements and the growth of social expenditure. 'Crisis', 'breakdown' and 'dismantlement' have emerged as the catchphrases of both academic and media analyses of the European welfare states. This book challenges the premises behind such reductive attitudes, focusing instead of the survival of the welfare state and its possible future development. An international panel of experts offer thorough, transnational and national studies of social policy and welfare reform activities in West European countries during the 1990's, and reach the conclusion that voters and governments are unlikely to allow fundamental elements of the welfare state's architecture to collapse. Survival of the Welfare State provides an alternative, more optimistic interpretation of the position of the European welfare states on the threshold of a new century. It aims at increasing both theoretical understanding and empirical knowledge of recent reforms, in countries including Spain, Germany, the UK, Denmark and across the EU. This is an essential resource for students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in the welfare state.