| Kommentar |
Welfare states are established institutions in many societies, but their design remains subject to intense political debates. These debates have intensified in recent times, with many now calling for ecosocial policies in response to the ever-intensifying planetary crisis. This situation raises important questions: How do inter- and transnational actors shape domestic welfare politics? How are (eco)social policies designed? How are they challenged and defended? What kinds of new risks are subsumed under the remit of contemporary welfare states? What new services are offered to address them? How is intersectionality accounted for? How do ecosocial policies deal with the traditional growth dependence of welfare states? How welfare states operate in the age of planetary crisis is critical to not only the socioeconomic security of citizens but also increasingly their adaptability to worsening ecological conditions, as well as ultimately their mere survival.
The seminar brings together various fields of study, including comparative political economy, ecological economics and International Relations to offer an introduction to the ecosocial dimensions of contemporary welfare states in societies of both the Global North and South. Its overarching didactic logic is to move from the international level (focusing on international organisations and transnational advocacy groups) to the domestic level (focusing on nation state institutions) to the local level (focusing on municipalities in the Ruhr region).
The seminar covers the following main topics:
- Theories and concepts of comparative welfare state research
- Theories and concepts of International Relations (to understand the role of actors beyond nation states)
- Multi-level governance, spatial dynamics
- Ecosocial policy and (in)justice
- Fields of social policy (such as pensions, health or unemployment)
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| Literatur |
Als vorbereitende Lektüre empfiehlt sich insbesondere:
Obinger, H. & Schmidt, M. G. (Eds.) (2019) Handbuch Sozialpolitik, Wiesbaden, Springer.
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