2008-03-19

Scandinavian Politics: conference, summer school, MSc

Dear all on the Scandinavian politics list,

I attach files on three things that might be of interest: a conference on the Nordic welfare state, a summer school on the same topic, and an MSc in Political Economy.

Best,

Nick Aylott.
--
Dr Nicholas Aylott, senior lecturer (docent) in political science
School of Social Sciences, Södertörn University College, Stockholm
SE-141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
www.sh.se/samhallsvetenskaper

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone who might be interested. To join the Scandinavian Politics mailing list, send a message to me, the convenor (nicholas.aylott@sh.se). If you want to send something to the list, or if you don't want to receive these occasional messages, just let me know. See also www.psa.ac.uk/spgrp/scandinavia/



Ämne:
Call for papers: Workfare policies and welfare state legitimacy, 11-12 September 2008, Bergen
Från:
Heidi Haggrén
Datum:
Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:20:02 +0200
Till:
"Nicholas Aylott" ,schulte@werknetz.com,info@espanet.org,henvendelser@fosam.uio.no,hiscj@hum.au.dk,sekretariatet@nsuweb.net

Please circulate this Call for papers to all potentially interested.

Best wishes,
Heidi Haggrén

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Call for papers:

Workfare policies and welfare state legitimacy

Conference 11-12 September 2008 at
Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, Bergen

Arranged by Nordic Centre of Excellence, NordWel: The Nordic Welfare State
– Historical Foundations and Future Challenges:
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/nord-wel/


CONFERENCE THEME
A common trend in the welfare policies of many European countries is the
increase in measures targeted at ‘high risk’ groups, such as the long-term
unemployed. These policies can be seen as a reaction to problems related to
an increasing differentiation in the labour market, problems related to
long-term unemployment and to the growth of immigrant groups.

The political answers to this problem have been similar all over the Western
world. The general trend of the reforms have been towards ‘active measures’
rather than passive, ‘sanctions’ rather than positive incentives, ‘duties’
rather than rights. These are key elements in a ‘new welfare contract’
between the citizen and the government, saying that ‘high risk’ recipients
groups have to meet certain participation requirements in order to receive
welfare benefits. This trend implies i.a. a move from universal welfare
programs and services, to selective, means-tested ones.

This conference puts focus on those types of policy measure that can be
summarized under the term of ‘workfare’. This literally means
‘work-for-your-welfare’, but should here include all kind of policies that
involve certain participation requirements of the welfare recipients.

The aim of conference is to approach the question of the effects of workfare
policies on welfare state legitimacy from various perspectives and regarding
different policy levels:
- the normative level (general values guiding welfare policies, social
policy ‘goals’ in the different countries),
- the structural or systemic level (including the specific organisational
structures for realizing workfare policies, the role of workfare policies in
relation to other social policy measures and their role in the changing
modes of social and economic regulation), and
- the level of workfare policy practices (the implementation of workfare
policies), as well as the level of outcomes of measures taken.

Relevant themes for the conference are:
- How is workfare conceptualised in contemporary welfare discourses?
- What are the origins and paths of international diffusion of workfare ideas?
- How does workfare relate to older emphases of work and employment ?
- What are the structure and reasons for political support for workfare
ideas in different countries?
- How are workfare policies legitimized in the public debate in different
Nordic and non-Nordic countries?
- What are the impacts of workfare policy goals on structural and
institutional design, and do these affect the legitimacy of the system?
- What are the attitudes and experiences, and their respective determinants,
of those engaged in implementing welfare policies at a ‘grass-root level’?
- How legitimate are workfare policies among the general population in
different countries?
- What are the effects of workfare policies, especially from the viewpoint
of the most vulnerable groups?
- How could we theoretically interpret workfare policies in the context of
the changing forms and function of the state (e.g. discussions on ‘welfare
state’-‘workfare state’ and ‘welfare state’-‘competition state’)?


CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
More detailed information on the programme will be available in March.
See https://blogs.helsinki.fi/nord-wel/


SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACT
Dead-line for abstract submission is 7 May 2008.
An abstract must include: ½ page and full contact details of author. The
abstract should be sent to the following e-mail address:
Helena.Blomberg@helsinki.fi


ACCEPTANCE OF PAPER PROPOSALS
Information about the acceptance of paper proposals will be sent out to
authors by 7 June 2008.

ACCOMMODATION AND TRAVEL COSTS
Accommodation will be paid for the participants accepted to present a paper.
Travel grant can be applied for in connection with abstract submission.


Nanna Kildal Pauli Kettunen Helena Blomberg
Stein Rokkan Centre for University of Helsinki University of Helsinki
Social studies



-- Heidi Haggrén, M.Soc.Sc. Coordinator NCoE NordWel Nordic Centre of Excellence: The Nordic Welfare State - Historical Foundations and Future Challenges Dept. of Social Science History P.O. Box 54 (Snellmaninkatu 14A) FIN-00014 University of Helsinki Tel +358 (0)9 191 249 58 Fax +358 (0)9 191 249 42 E-mail heidi.haggren@helsinki.fi =



Ämne:
Call for Papers - NordWel Summer School 2008: State, Society & Citizen – the Multilayered Historicity of the Welfare State
Från:
Heidi Haggrén
Datum:
Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:45:44 +0200
Till:
"Nicholas Aylott" ,schulte@werknetz.com,info@espanet.org,henvendelser@fosam.uio.no,hiscj@hum.au.dk,sekretariatet@nsuweb.net

Please circulate this Call for papers to all potentially interested.

Best wishes,
Heidi Haggrén

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NordWel Summer School 2008

State, Society & Citizen – the Multilayered Historicity of the Welfare State

Date: 21-26 August 2008
Place: Helsinki
Organisers: NCoE NordWel in cooperation with the Danish Research School for
History and Nordic Research School for Contemporary History.


We invite Ph.D.-students and young researchers from different backgrounds
both within and outside the Nordic countries to participate in discussing
the history of the welfare state, its preconditions and how we ought to
study it.

Old and new perspectives on the welfare state

Welfare States has and can be studied from a number of theoretical and
methodological approaches, with various chronological perspectives and with
a focus on different empirical phenomena. As stated in the title “State,
Society & Citizen – the Multilayered Historicity of the Welfare State” our
aim is to stimulate cross-disciplinary and multi-perspective discussions on
the welfare state as a historical phenomena and concept.

The welfare state is to be understood as a broad concept and papers at the
summer school can include papers on welfare institutions; historical and
social preconditions; ideas, visions and critiques; transnational and
comparative perspectives as well as studies of agents and social movements.

The Summer School will – inspired by new trends with in welfare research -
challenge our often very narrow national and contemporary understanding of
the welfare state. Our aim is to bring together Ph.D.-students and young
researchers and stimulate a discussion that will challenge and maybe bring
us beyond well established concepts and understandings.

We invite proposals for papers that deal with welfare and welfare state in a
broad historical perspective. Papers can be both theoretical and empirical
in their approach. They can deal with national themes or have a comparative
perspective. The list of possible themes seems almost infinite but papers
could deal with topics such as

* The historical development of social security and service systems
including both the 20th Century as well as the long historical roots and
preconditions for the contemporary welfare state
* The political history of the welfare state including political and
ideological discussions on welfare, the role of political parties as well as
the role of social movements.
* Visions of society including the role of ideology, the history of
theories about society, social movements and alternative visions of the good
society, discussions on gender equality, the welfare state as utopia or
dystopia in politics or arts.
* Conceptual perspectives on the welfare state including the role of
ideology and ideas, the use of theories and theoretical perspectives.
* Transnational perspectives including policy transfer, export of
welfare systems, the relationship between the national and international,
and the role of international organizations and ideas
* The normative underpinnings of the welfare state model including value
systems of the welfare state, gendering of welfare systems, the normative
charges of work, the role of religion and contemporary challenges to the
normative foundation.
* Institutional perspectives including the relationship between local
and national (state and municipality), between the public and the private,
policy studies and the role of expert and knowledge.

Teachers include, among others, Bo Stråth (University of Helsinki, Finland),
Janet Nyman (Open University, UK), Adalbert Evers (Giessen University,
Germany), Pauli Kettunen (University of Helsinki, Finland), Pirjo Markkola
(Åbo Akademi University, Finland) and Klaus Petersen (University of Southern
Denmark, Denmark).

The summer school is designed for Nordic and international PhD students and
postdoctoral researchers. The course is composed of a series of guest
lectures and workshops. Guest lectures and senior scholars will act as
discussants in the workshops as well as the PhD students.

The course program will be updated on the NordWel home page at
http://blogs.helsinki.fi/nord-wel/.

Participants who complete the summer school successfully are credited with
10 ECTS credits.

Course fee

The Course fee is 100 Euros. Travel costs and accommodation will be financed
by NCoE NordWel and the Danish Research School for History.

How to apply

PhD students and young researchers interested in participating in the summer
school should send an abstract (½ page) and a short biography by email no
later than 30 April 2008 to coordinator Heidi Haggrén:
heidi.haggren@helsinki.fi, + 358 9 191 24958.

Contact

For inquiries or comments, contact Coordinator Heidi Haggrén via e-mail:
heidi.haggren@helsinki.fi, or by phone: + 358 9 191 24958.

NordWel Summer School 2008 will cooperate with Concepta Helsinki Summer
School 2008: Introduction to Conceptual History (http://www.concepta-net.org)

Organizing committee

Professor Pauli Kettunen, Dept. of Social Science History, University of
Helsinki
Professor Pirjo Markkola, Department of History, Åbo Academy University
Professor Klaus Petersen, Centre for Welfare State Research, Univ. of
Southern Denmark

Contact: Heidi Haggrén: heidi.haggren@helsinki.fi, + 358 9 191 24958.

-- Heidi Haggrén, M.Soc.Sc. Coordinator NCoE NordWel Nordic Centre of Excellence: The Nordic Welfare State - Historical Foundations and Future Challenges Dept. of Social Science History P.O. Box 54 (Snellmaninkatu 14A) FIN-00014 University of Helsinki Tel +358 (0)9 191 249 58 Fax +358 (0)9 191 249 42 E-mail heidi.haggren@helsinki.fi =

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2008-03-10

Scandinavian Politics: financial news

Dear all on the Scandinavian Politics list,

Just a quick note about financial matters.

The PSA's specialist-groups sub-committee has agreed to give £800 towards our activities this year. This is a good result, due largely to various efforts and initiatives last year, which contributed to what must be our relatively high level of activity among specialist groups. Thanks again to those who organised things. This is what we need to continue.

1. If anyone would be interested in receiving funding for an event, let me know. It could be a seminar, a workshop - anything that is concerned with (a) political science and (b) Nordic politics will be considered.

Our biggest donation last year was £750 for a conference, and something similar could be on offer this year. I've already had one pretty firm suggestion submitted, so that one is first in the queue. But we may well have room to fund additional projects.

2. As last year, around £150 is available to postgraduate students attending the PSA conference in Swansea in April 2008, to help with travel and the conference fee. Those interested should get in touch with me as soon as possible.

Best, from a gloomy Stockholm that's "enjoyed" its mildest winter since 1756,

Nick.
--
Dr Nicholas Aylott, senior lecturer (docent) in political science
School of Social Sciences, Södertörn University College, Stockholm
SE-141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
www.sh.se/samhallsvetenskaper

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