Power resources theory: a critical reassesment

Abstract

Power resources theory (PRT) has been one of the dominant approaches in the study of the development of post-war welfare states. Its central idea is that different class power balances produce different forms of welfare states. However, scholars have increasingly questioned its explanatory ability to account for recent transformations in post-industrial welfare states. This article analyses the origins and contents of PRT, reviews three of the main critiques of the theory and suggests a path for the reconstruction of its research programme, arguing that it is a good starting-point for assessing recent changes in the welfare state and for promoting a dialogue with other neighbouring fields of research.