PhD thesis defence by Daniel Fernández Serrano
This thesis explains cross-national diversity in welfare state development through a path-dependent analysis of their administrative foundations. It advances a reconceptualization of the welfare state that moves beyond the conventional triad of state, market, and family, highlighting instead the critical role of administrative relationships between the state and independent welfare providers embedded within civil society. Drawing on theories of state autonomy and infrastructural power, the study emphasizes how these relationships shape patterns of welfare provision and governance.
The thesis argues that the bureaucratization of civil society is deeply conditioned by historically rooted administrative traditions. It develops a typology of state–civil society interactions, ranging from incremental incorporation to the suppression of independent welfare actors, demonstrating how states variably co-opt or constrain civil society engagement in social policy delivery.
Finally, the study examines the enduring impact of these administrative legacies on contemporary welfare trajectories across Western Europe. It identifies three distinct pathways: a shift toward a social investment model in Northern Europe; increasing fragmentation and uneven coverage in Southern Europe; and the persistence of market-led governance in the United Kingdom. These trajectories reflect divergent intergenerational social contracts, with Northern European systems adapting more successfully to the knowledge economy, while Southern Europe and France continue to face challenges in reallocating resources toward younger generations amid low productivity and adverse demographic trends.
Daniel Fernández Serrano is a researcher and PhD candidate at the European University Institute (EUI), where his dissertation examines welfare governance, public administration, and state–civil society relations in Europe. His research focuses on how administrative traditions shape the development and transformation of European welfare states. He has been involved in several comparative research projects on welfare recalibration and EU policy implementation, and has conducted research at institutions including Sciences Po Paris and the University of Florence.