Between social democracy and neoliberalism in a world in crisis: putting the Albanese Labor Government in context

This special issue explores social democracy, labourism, and neoliberalism through investigations of the Albanese Labor Government’s first-term. Bringing together political science, political economy, and public policy, the contributions examine the Albanese Government’s ideological commitments and how it has governed policy domains in crisis, such as housing, climate, and higher education. This introduction discusses the context for the rise of the Albanese Government, including the global ‘polycrisis’, widespread discontent with politics, and Labor’s electoral strategy. We frame the contributions of the special issue as examining the space between two poles. On one side, conceptualising Labor as attempting to address crises while hamstrung by decades of neoliberalism. On the other, understanding Labor as hewing to the neoliberal status quo and possessing a limited appetite for social democratic change. We position the special issue to contribute to wider debates on the challenges of social democratic policymaking in an era of global crisis.