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How Civil Society Organisations Mediate Social Rights after Welfare Chauvinist Reforms: A Swiss Case Study

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  • Rulla Sutter

Abstract

Amid Europe's debate on welfare chauvinist policies, this study analyses the impact of the 2019 Swiss Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) reform. This contribution investigates how the increased social assistance non-take-up reshaped the role of a key CSO engaged at the poverty line: Caritas. Within a convergent mixed-methods design, the study combines full access to the CSO’s administrative data with thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Findings confirm the CSO characteristics as a responsive but only temporary actor: constrained to one-off financial aid, the organisation must refer increasing numbers of clients to state assistance - even when such referrals may jeopardise residence status. By tracing how social rights are mediated within a broader climate of residence-related insecurity, the study advances the understanding of (a) welfare non-take-up, (b) the effects of welfare chauvinist reforms in general, while also (c) demonstrating the socio-political relevance of CSO data.

Suggested Citation

  • Rulla Sutter, 2026. "How Civil Society Organisations Mediate Social Rights after Welfare Chauvinist Reforms: A Swiss Case Study," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 60, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences.
    • Handle: RePEc:bss:wpaper:60
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    File URL: https://repec.sowi.unibe.ch/files/wp60/Sutter-2026-FNIA.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2026
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution

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