The Challenge to Welfare Orientalism in East Asian Welfare State Theory

Abstract

  Welfare Orientalism is the Eurocentric bias that exists in comparative welfare state studies. This study examines the aforementioned trend of discussion by dividing it into four stages, from the first to the fourth. Welfare regime theory contains two welfare orientalist biases: the exception of East Asia and the use of Nordic-centric indicators. Conversely, the Confucian Welfare State Theory and the Functional Equivalent Theory of the “First” and “Second” Phases, respectively, regard the exception of East Asia in the comparative welfare state study as a problem. To overcome the problem of exceptions, these studies sought to understand the characteristics of East Asian welfare states. These studies, however, focus only on East Asia, making it difficult to discuss Western Europe. In contrast, in the “Third Phase” of the Familialism Welfare Regime Theory, a new analytical framework as the de-familialization indicators could explain East Asia and Western Europe. However, some studies reveal that the de-familialization index itself is Nordic-centric. Therefore, the “Fourth Phase” of the Theory of Varieties of Familism revised the Nordic-centric de-familialization index. While the “fourth phase” is limited to the analysis of the private sphere of the welfare state, as a new stage, utilizing diversified indicators in the public sphere can be expected to overcome the welfare orientalistic biases inherent in both welfare regime theories.