The welfare regimes of the four small democracies along the European city-belt have rather been neglected in welfare state research. Strong intermediary structures, a fragmented labour movement and cultural heterogeneity are the most striking similiarities, which the social structures of Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland share with Germany. These structural preconditions have been shaping the welfare institutions int these countries. This project will explain the development of their specific type of welfare regime from a historical and comparative perspective.
