Date of Award

Spring 5-2026

Language

English

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Political Science

Advisor/Committee Chair

Timothy Weaver

Abstract

This paper examines why the United States welfare state struggles to achieve universal social protection, focusing on the role of federalism, political ideology, and public opinion. It argues that the U.S. welfare state is structurally fragmented due to the division of authority between federal and state governments, which produces uneven, inconsistent, and often inadequate access to social benefits. This fragmentation is rooted in historical developments, including New Deal era political compromises, racialized policy exclusions, and resistance from organized interest groups, which embedded decentralization and inequality into the system’s foundation. Using Gøsta Esping-Andersen’s welfare regime typology and T.H. Marshall’s concept of social citizenship rights, the paper situates the United States within the liberal welfare model characterized by means-tested provision and limited decommodification. It further draws on Martin Gilens’ work on public opinion to show how perceptions of the “deserving” versus “undeserving” poor shape political support for welfare programs, reinforcing selective rather than universal provision. Suzanne Mettler’s concept of the “submerged state” is also used to explain how administrative fragmentation obscures the visibility of government benefits, weakening public recognition of social rights. The paper employs comparative analysis of Germany and Sweden. Germany demonstrates that federal systems can still produce relatively universal welfare outcomes through constitutional standardization and intergovernmental coordination. Sweden represents a centralized social democratic model with high decommodification and universal provision. These cases show that federalism alone does not determine welfare fragmentation; rather, institutional design, political trust, and policy coordination are decisive factors. The study concludes that the United States’ fragmented welfare system is not inevitable, but the product of structural design reinforced by ideology and public perception. Without stronger coordination and a shift toward rights-based provision, universal social protection remains difficult to achieve in the American context.

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