Why Welfare States Save Democracy

Abstract: Rising inequality threatens democratic durability, as societies become increasingly polarized. South Korea and Taiwan have resisted global trends in democratic backsliding by continually expanding their social welfare regimes. Democratic resilience and welfare deepening have been mutually reinforcing in South Korea and Taiwan. Democratization during the 1990s created the political conditions and incentives to deepen the government’s social policy commitments. Over the past three decades, the continued expansion of the social safety nets in South Korea and Taiwan has mitigated the effects of growing inequality and deepened citizens’ trust in democratic institutions and practices.