Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This volume offers a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective on the question of whether, how, and to what extent the Cold War influenced the development of the welfare state in industrialized countries in the First and Second World between 1947 and 1989. Linking the two master narratives of the post-war era, the book provides the first systematic analysis of possible causal mechanisms linking the Cold War and the welfare state. Hence, it offers a novel perspective on how the international context framed and affected the massive expansion of social security and welfare programmes, first, during the so-called Golden Age of the welfare state and, second, during a period of welfare state crisis and restructuring after the late 1970s. In short, the book demonstrates—theoretically and empirically—that during the Cold War era (c. 1945–89), national security and social security developed together.</jats:p>