300146 Political Economy of Risk Regulation (MA Seminar Recht & Regulierung) (S) (SoSe 2014)

With his diagnosis of "risk society", Ulrich Beck has seemingly dethroned the role of social distribution via health care, pensions, benefits etc. in Western regulatory contexts. The positive logic of goods distribution is displaced by a negative logic of 'social bads' - coming in the form of floods, hurricanes, food contaminations, or terrorist attacks. As these risks, in principle, universally threaten rich and poor, black and white, male and female alike, the 'old' markers of distribution lose importance in the analysis of contemporary risk regulation.

This text-based seminar seeks to provide students with the theoretical, analytical and empirical foundations to critically assess the above claims from the perspective of political economy.

In order to harvest this potential, the seminar proceeds in two main parts. In the first couple of sessions we will familiarise ourselves with key concepts in risk regulation and key approaches in political economy. The second part of the term will be dedicated to the analysis of specific empirical cases of risk regulation - including hurricane Katrina, the 'war on terror', prenatal care, pesticides, work accidents, and digitalised migration control - which we will access with our jointly forged political economy lens.

At the end of the semester students will:

1) be familiar with the broad terms of the academic debate on risk society and risk regulation;
2) have a sound overview of various empirical cases of risk regulation;
3) be able to identify and critically assess different analytical frameworks of political economy in analyses of risk regulation;
4) be able to analyse an empirical case of risk regulation from a political economy perspective themselves.

Requirements for participation, required level

Basic knowledge of political economy theories (Classical Political Economy, Marxism, Neoclassic/Monetarism, Keynesianism...) is of advantage. I suggest the core reading "Theories of Political Economy" by Caporosa and Levine (Cambridge UP, 2009) as a starter.

Familiarity with the concept of risk society and basic approaches to risk regulation are desirable.

This unit will RUN ENTIRELY in ENGLISH language and students must be able to read and discuss sophisticated academic texts in English. However, term essays (Hausarbeiten) can also be written in German language, but students are expected to refer to key English-speaking academic texts in this case as well.

Bibliography

The core readings for the conceptual discussion on risk regulation and on political economy will be listed here shortly, those for the empirical case studies will be circulated later.

All material will be made available via StudIP. A longer bibliography will be distributed along with the unit handbook during the first session.