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| Detailed information |
| Original study plan |
Master's programme Comparative Social Policy and Welfare 2024W |
| Objectives |
This course provides students with an in-depth knowledge of the politics of social policy-making in a selected social policy field. The focus of attention is on policy design, political processes, and the political actors and institutions that structure political decision-making. The class has an explicitly comparative outlook, examining differences in the political processes and policy content across countries. Upon successfully completing the course, students will be able to:
- … analyse the details of design alternatives in a specific social policy area and identify best practices
- … reconstruct the policy history of welfare institutions and identify the historical and political or-igins of the institutions of social protection in the specified policy area
- … assess the impact of different policy designs on both the well-being of different groups in so-ciety and structures of policy preferences and political mobilization supporting or opposing par-ticular social policy reform options
- … based on the analysis of political institutions and patterns of mobilization predict political fea-sibility and political consequences of initiatives at social policy innovation
- … display familiarity with major sources of comparative data on policies and political structure and process, and use these data, as well information and arguments drawn from the secondary literature in a responsible and ethically acceptable manner
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| Subject |
Students will analyse the content of one social policy field, its historical development, major actors and institutions, decision-making procedures, and outcomes. More specifically, the following questions will be tackled: How can the policy field be organised, i.e. how do possible constellations of policies and insti-tutions in different countries look like? Who are the major actors and organisations that participate in the production of welfare? What are the political dynamics? What role do international organisations play? The course addresses issues of political feasibility, prospects for policy innovation, considerations of the "political cost" of alternative courses of action, and possible points of contention over certain social policy issues. The specific policy field or substantive focus of attention of this course may vary from year to year. The class may focus, for example, on pension policy, family policy, health policy, min-imum social protection, or migration and social policy.
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| Criteria for evaluation |
Active participation during the Intensive Program and the interactive components of the long-distance phase of the class. Combination of individual assignments, exams, and tasks (such as research papers or presentations) to be accomplished in teams.
In the retake-option evaluation is based on a written or oral exam.
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| Methods |
Introductory classroom sessions during the Intensive Program at the beginning of the semester, after-ward a combination of individual studies of the relevant literature and interactive elements such as online meetings or teamwork.
The retake option consists of an independent study of a reading list provided by the instructor.
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| Language |
English |
| Study material |
Readings and assignments are provided by the instructor.
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| Changing subject? |
No |
| Further information |
Students who have received a failing grade, or who wish to retake the course to improve their grade, must declare their intention to retake the course before the next semester so that a retake opportunity can be offered. They will then repeat the course through independent study, studying the literature independently from a specially prepared reading list, and demonstrating their competence in a written or oral examination at the end of the semester. The retake option is not a substitute for the regular course. It is only offered to students who have received a grade in the regular course.
The specific policy field on which this class focuses is variable. This retake option will retain the policy-field specialization of the regular class offering within one cohort (i.e. two years). Once the regular class is offered again after two years, the substantive policy-field focus may change, and students will retake the class with the new content.
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