The article examines the relevance of masculinism inaccounting for the formation of different welfare states in Sweden and Germany. Masculinism - as defined here - refers not to the description of masculinity or to daily life experiences, but rather to the discursively articulated masculinity in the policymaking process as well as the institutionalized masculinity of the polities and the politics in both countires. The article demonstrates that within the chosen policyfield - the protective

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... ur legislation - Sweden and Germany differ considerably when it comes to the interpretative frameworks and the institutional precedence of masculinity. Germany represents a rigid masculinism whereas Sweden can be described as a moderate masculinism. This gendered pattern is, rather than through different levels of economic development best explained - as Kulawik argues - in terms of the respective national political configuration.