Skip Navigation



Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society Advance Access published online on August 1, 2006
Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, doi:10.1093/sp/jxl003
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
13/3/372    most recent
jxl003v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gifford, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Article

The Camouflaged Safety Net: The U.S. Armed Forces as Welfare State Institution

Brian Gifford *

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Brian Gifford, E-mail: bgifford{at}rand.org


  Abstract

Observers of the U.S. welfare state often contrast its low levels of social spending with its lavish defense spending. This article demonstrates that U.S. military institutions in fact provide a segment of the population with benefits that have characteristics of formal welfare state programs and have similar social welfare purposes. It thus conceives of social assistance benefits for military families as comprising a distinct welfare state institution, one that challenges assumptions that the U.S. strategy for achieving social welfare goals fundamentally depends on rewarding market participation and financially supporting families only under conditions of extreme poverty.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.