Embedded Liberalism or Embedded Nationalism? How Welfare States Affect Anti-Globalization Nationalism in Party Platforms

In industrialized democracies, welfare state provisions have offsetting implications for anti-globalization nationalism, central to the position-taking of populist radical-right parties. On the one hand, social protection has an “embedded liberalism” effect, mitigating economic insecurities associated with globalization and thereby dampening anti-globalization nationalism. On the other hand, social protection has an “embedded nationalism” effect, awakening worries that globalization may undermine hard-won provisions and thereby deepening anti-globalization. This paper argues and finds evidence that which of these dynamics predominates depends on the particular kind of anti-globalization debated and on the particular party family doing the debating. Welfare effort may generally dampen anti-globalization nationalism, but it tends to deepen more than dampen anti-globalization with respect to immigration and EU-integration that more directly impact existing national welfare provisions. Welfare effort also deepens more than dampens anti-globalization among radical-right and radical-left parties taking issue-ownership of anti-globalization and of protecting national welfare-state competencies from global pressure.