The seminar intends to give an overview on the development of (welfare) capitalism in recent years.

We will start with different concepts of capitalism as a historical phenomenon. Topics will be structural transformations and politics, respectively the role of different actors such as the state or multinational companies. Finally we will mirror social policies as part of welfare capitalism in different countries and their success to soften outcomes of capitalist production.

Gender inequality in socio-economic and political realms (e.g., the gendered division of paid and unpaid labor, and underrepresentation of women in political parties and labor unions) prompts us to rethink a number of key assumptions of comparative welfare research. The unit of comparative welfare analysis is an average worker (in the manufacturing industry) with dependents; however, it was only after the 1970s that a large number of women entered the labor market. To give another example, it is commonly known that male workers’ political struggle to attain their social rights was crucial for generating the contours of welfare states but it is unclear whether women workers were able to do so, given their lack of access to political resources (e.g., voting rights) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Lastly, while traditional social policies experienced retrenchment under the austerity era, work-family policies expanded in the last twenty years, coinciding with the increase of female labor participation and female representation in parliaments. This seminar offers students the opportunity to revisit theoretical frameworks of the comparative welfare research from a gender perspective and examine these theoretical prepositions empirically. The impact of welfare policies on gender relation and women’s political influence on the formation of welfare policies will be embedded in historical continuations. This seminar comprises three parts. First, it will introduce feminist critiques of welfare states and welfare state theory. Second, it will investigate the historical development of social policies for women and the role of women as political actors in the development process. Lastly, it will evaluate whether the recent development of work-family polices reshapes gender relations and investigate potential explanations for the development.

We would all associate the labour movement with "Soliarity" as a founding principle. However, with increasing globalisation, the question arises which forms of solidarity emerge in a transnational arena, respectively between organisations and workers of different countries. To answer these questions we frist try to find out specific preconditions of transnational solidarity. Then we both look at institutionalised forms of solidarity in the European Union as European works councils or the social dialogue. But we also discuss why the the introduction of a European minimum wage was not unanimously supported by trade unions.

The future of work has been a topic of intense academic and political debates over the last decade or so. This seminar will review the main driving forces that change employment structures and job characteristics on the one hand and discuss policy options that have been put forward to cope with the ongoing transformation of labour markets in a way that is societally and economically sustainable. The first part of the seminar will therefore devoted to factors such as technological change (digitalisation and automation, artificial intelligence, online platforms), demographic change and labour shortages, de-carbonisation, (de)globalisation and, last but not least, new and diverse forms of flexible and mobile working. The second part of the seminar will then address core policy areas such as active labour market policies to adjust to structural change, continuous vocational training for adult workers, social insurance coverage of flexible forms of employment, reforms in wage setting and worker participation and policies to ensure a productive and healthy world of work, e.g. by new forms of working time policy. Some light will be shed on sectoral, national and EU level initiatives.

Successful participation in the seminar requires regular attendance, a presentation on a selected topic and an oral exam.

The course provides an overview and introduction of the most important actors, processes, and outcomes of employment relations from a comparative and international perspective. The first part will provide an introduction to labour markets and work arrangements as well as its current changes. It will be assessed how these changes affect employment relations. The second part will focus on national systems of employment relations and its most important actors. Here, too, ongoing challenges will be discussed and how trade unions and employers’ organisations have tried to deal with them. In the third and final section transnational influences on employment such as globalised markets or the European integration will be discussed.

We would all associate the labour movement with "Soliarity" as a founding principle. However, with increasing globalisation, the question arises which forms of solidarity emerge in a transnational arena, respectively between organisations and workers of different countries. To answer these questions we frist try to find out specific preconditions of transnational solidarity. Then we both look at institutionalised forms of solidarity in the European Union as European works councils or the social dialogue. But we also discuss why the the introduction of a European minimum wage was not unanimously supported by trade unions.

The future of work has been a topic of intense academic and political debates over the last decade or so. This seminar will review the main driving forces that change employment structures and job characteristics on the one hand and discuss policy options that have been put forward to cope with the ongoing transformation of labour markets in a way that is societally and economically sustainable. The first part of the seminar will therefore devoted to factors such as technological change (digitalisation and automation, artificial intelligence, online platforms), demographic change and labour shortages, de-carbonisation, (de)globalisation and, last but not least, new and diverse forms of flexible and mobile working. The second part of the seminar will then address core policy areas such as active labour market policies to adjust to structural change, continuous vocational training for adult workers, social insurance coverage of flexible forms of employment, reforms in wage setting and worker participation and policies to ensure a productive and healthy world of work, e.g. by new forms of working time policy. Some light will be shed on sectoral, national and EU level initiatives.

Successful participation in the seminar requires regular attendance, a presentation on a selected topic and an oral exam.

The course provides an overview and introduction of the most important actors, processes, and outcomes of employment relations from a comparative and international perspective. The first part will provide an introduction to labour markets and work arrangements as well as its current changes. It will be assessed how these changes affect employment relations. The second part will focus on national systems of employment relations and its most important actors. Here, too, ongoing challenges will be discussed and how trade unions and employers’ organisations have tried to deal with them. In the third and final section transnational influences on employment such as globalised markets or the European integration will be discussed.

The course intends to familiarise students with main concepts and theories of migration (policy) studies. It aims at establishing a link between the macro-, meso- and micro-level of migration processes to present a complex yet comprehensive picture of human mobility in the modern times. The course will cover the following broad questions: Why do people migrate? How does the current world system of nation states shape migratory pathways? Which barriers do migrants face on their way to economic, social and structural integration in host states? And which alternatives to state-centred views on international migration exist?

Comparative welfare state research has for a long time been centred on welfare states of the Global North. However, in recent years social policy arrangements in the Global South are increasingly studied as well. In this seminar, we will shed light on some of the key questions that arise in this regard: Which developments have shaped social policy-making in the Global South, which actors are relevant, and which policy instruments can be identified? How are social policy developments in different countries and regions connected, and which role do transnational factors play here? And finally: Which theoretical approaches can we rely on to study social policy in the Global South?
The course language is English. Information on course structure and requirements will be provided in the first session.