The course analyses historical context of the emergence of the welfare state and its further development in the 20th century. The end of the 20th century is described as the so-called "crisis of the welfare state". This topic is followed by an analysis of the causes and context of the crisis and the reforms made in the European welfare states since the 1980s. There is a space reserved for such terms as mixed economy, quasi-market, convergence of various models of the welfare state. The topic of convergence is naturally preceded by an analysis of the basic typologies of welfare states and the basic models of welfare states included in them. Special focus is on central European model of social policy and its eclectic approach to social welfare.