A two-dimensional conflict? The new politics of minimum income reform in Southern Europe
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article theorises and empirically traces how the emergence of a value-based cleavage has reshaped the politics of minimum income reform in Southern Europe. It argues that the rise of the libertarian–authoritarian value conflict in post-industrial politics, combined with the increasing centrality of activation in means-tested benefits, has restructured the political arena into a multidimensional space. In this context, policy reforms are shaped not only by the traditional class-based cleavage but also by a moral conflict over the rights and obligations of welfare recipients. The article therefore hypotheses that reform trajectories are increasingly driven by the policy preferences of coalition partners negotiating this multidimensional, twofold conflict. To examine this, it adopts a most-similar systems design, focusing on Italy, Spain, and Portugal – three countries that, despite a historical reliance on weak minimum income floors, have undergone significant yet divergent reforms over the past decade.
Author: Llorenç Soler-Buades
Institution: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7124431198