Abstract

This article tries to provide a theorization and empirical analysis of the politics of gradual transformative change: How are political majorities built? Under what conditions is incremental path-shifting change possible or likely to occur? The results show three points: a) Policies are multidimensional and actors of a same subsystem pursue different goals. b) Actors can combine these different dimensions in ways as to allow for political exchange, and for the formation of variable reform coalitions. And c) the success of such mechanisms of exchange and coalition-building depends on the institutional framework. Empirically, the article analyzes major pension reforms in France, Germany and Switzerland in the 1990s.