Concepts of the Nation, Welfare and the European Question: Comparing Chapters of Dutch and Hungarian Social Policy

The context of globalization with its strong neoliberal ideological pressure reinforces in some countries “revitalized” traditional concepts of the nation. These concepts might be rooted in radically different traditions. Two such countries with opposing concepts of the nation are Hungary and the Netherlands. In this paper, I will attempt to demonstrate that Hungary is being reshaped as a communitarian state based on its ethno-linguistic tradition of solidarity, while the Netherlands has chosen to remain a liberal civic state characterized by its genuine mercantile spirit. This revitalization of nation concepts by the “mainstream” political forces in both countries is opposed by antagonistic political and societal forces. In Hungary, neoliberals have attempted to topple the communitarian state in the making, without much success however. In the Netherlands populist movements which have introduced a so-called “national” discourse into politics have - although gaining an electoral basis – been unsuccessful in breaking through the patterns of the established domains of power. In any case, radically different models are being implemented in both countries to guarantee welfare for its citizens in the long run.  In this paper, I will focus on chapters of social policy employing as the most relevant research tool the “language of politics”.  The field of concepts related to social policy are most of the times divergent in both countries due to the different concepts of the nation, its original meaning and its present practical implementation. These divergences in “linguistic political cultures” are seriously deepening the crisis of Social Europe.