300192 Global social policy - the role of international organizations (S) (WiSe 2018/2019)

Historically social policy and the welfare state have been projects of (West and North European) nation states, closely linked to the rise of mass democracies. In the absence of a global state and a global democracy, it is not clear what ‘social policy’ could mean on a global scale. Can we reasonably expect that social policy or even a welfare state develops globally? How would global social policy differ from the familiar national forms of Western social policy?

There is evidence of an emerging global social policy. In current debates, ‘globalisation’ mostly refers to economic globalisation, but international organisations and social movements have called for a ‘social dimension of globalisation’. There is a double move towards global social policy: international organizations increasingly attend to ‘social’ issues (what Bob Deacon, the author of the first textbook on global social policy (1997), called the ‘socialisation of global politics’); and state social policy is spreading in countries of the global South. This class deals with the former (international organisations), while my class 'Social protection in developing countries’ (Mondays 16-18h) deals with the latter (Southern countries). The two classes complement each other - if you want to attend both, this would make sense.

The course addresses key issues of global social policy from a sociological perspective. Questions to be investigated include:

• What is ‘global social policy’? What is ‘global’ in ‘global social policy’? What is ‘world society’?
• What ideas and actors are relevant to global social policy in the absence of a world state? (‘socialisation of global politics’, ‘social global governance’)
• What are UN-sponsored social human rights?
• What policies do global actors pursue? We will look at several policy areas such as old-age security and poverty.
• How does global social policy impact on national social policies? (global diffusion of ideas and policies)
• What social policies and what societal structures characterize countries of the global South?

Requirements for participation, required level

Knowledge on social policy or on global issues.

Students from the global South are particularly welcome.

Bibliography

Browse through the journals “Global Social Policy” and “International Social Security Review” (available in the university library)