The goal of this course is to introduce students to theoretical and experimental research in formal political theory, social choice and experimental political science. This course will cover several key topics that have been studied and developed through a combination of game-theoretic analysis and laboratory experiments. We will analyze participation in elections, voting behavior under different voting rules, and principal-agent problems in a political context. For some of these topics, we will examine in detail the interplay between theoretical predictions and behavior observed in laboratory experiments.
Morton, R. B., & Williams, K. C. (2010). Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab. Cambridge University Press, available as e-book via SuUB.
Mueller, D. (2003). Public Choice III. Cambridge University Press.
Persson, T., & Tabellini, G. (2002). Political Economics: Explaining Economic Policy. Cambridge, The MIT Press.

In the seminar we will examine the development of the welfare state in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We will start by definining the CEE region and looking at the similarities and differences (historical, cultural, political, economic) across CEE countries. We will then focus on the pre-1989 communist welfare state, as well as the unfolding and impact of the post-1989 transition. Then we will discuss the post-1989 development of welfare arrangements in the region (including healthcare, long-term care, family policies, pensions) and the actors involved in shaping policy-making processes. The impact of Europeanization processes, as well as gender aspects will also be considered. The non-exhaustive list of topics includes:
1. Definition of CEE; political, cultural, economic diversity of the region; 1945-1989 welfare arrangements; legacies
2. 1989 change; a triple transition; internal vs. external factors and actors shaping transition paths
3. Social costs of the transition – unemployment, health, demography, public opinion
4. Emergence of new ‘varieties of capitalism’ in CEE; the role of the state and trade unions in CEE; employment relations
5. Policies: pensions, healthcare, long-term care, unemployment insurance, family benefits and services
6. Welfare state and gender in the transition process
7. EU enlargement; social acquis; conditionality; compliance; impact of the acquis on social policy in CEE
8. New world(s) of welfare in CEE.
The seminar is organized in monthly block meetings and will take place online via zoom. Readings and course material will be made available on Stud.IP.

This course aims to provide students with the tools to analyze, understand and explain the relationship between international politics and education policy. How does globalization influence national education policies and vice versa? Which actors are relevant in international education policy, and which theories of International Relations can help us explain the historical development of the field? These (and others) are the leading questions along which the course is structured. Special attention will be granted to the role of norms in international relations, how they have shaped international education policy in the past and continue to do so in the present. International organizations and their autonomous influence vis-à-vis nation states constitute the second key interest of the course. Is the “Golden age” of the nation state over, and what does the supposed transformation of the state mean for education policy?
This class is designed for Master level students and taught in English. In principle, the course is open to Master students from all relevant programmes. It is mandatory for the Double Degree M.A. Education Policies for Global Development. Teaching will be online.

This course will provide an introduction to various aspects of the economics of education. It applies the tools of economic analysis to educational policy and problem solving. Topics include: human capital and signaling theories, returns to education, education and growth, education production, incentives and accountability, as well as empirical methods. The most important reading will be the following (e-)book.
Bradley, S. and Green, C. (2020). The Economics of Education (Second Edition). Academic Press, available as e-book via SuUB.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to behavioral research on fairness, norms and inequality, and to key aspects of experimental design and data analysis. The topics covered include inequity aversion, trust, cooperation, sharing and gender norms, inequality and redistribution. We will give an introduction to statistical software for the data analysis part and play various classroom experiments. The course readings will include published articles as well as chapters from various textbooks (listed in the syllabus).
Morton, R. B., & Williams, K. C. (2010). Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab. Cambridge University Press, available as e-book via SuUB.

Reproductive rights refer to the composite of human rights that address matters of sexual and reproductive health. Reproductive rights are protected through the application of human rights in guidelines, national laws, constitutions, and regional and international treaties. (…) [They] consist of three broad categories of rights: (1) rights to reproductive self-determination, (2) rights to sexual and reproductive health services, information, and education, and (3) rights to equality and nondiscrimination (Erdman and Cook 2008).
Different aspects of reproductive rights are studied by political science, medicine, public health, law and (bio)ethics.
Reproductive rights remain strongly contested, access to information and services continues to be restricted and individuals are 'denied freedom to manage their lives' in many world regions (Kulczycki 2017), including a number of European countries. On the other hand, advances are made in response to cultural and societal changes. Moreover, developments in medical technology require continuous adjustments of the respective regulations, both at national and regional (e.g. EU) level. Some recent news items offer snapshots of the changing situation in Europe:
https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2019-05/surrogate-mothers-greece-babies-childless-couples-germany-english
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-approves-new-abortion-law/a-47611468
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/24/thousands-join-poland-protests-against-strict-abortion-laws
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/26/ireland-votes-by-landslide-to-legalise-abortion
In the seminar we will focus on how reproductive rights are defined by law and exercised in practice in European countries and internationally. Thus, we will analyze regulatory frameworks and their practical implementation affecting, among other, the provision of sexual education, access to abortion and assisted reproduction technologies. We will discuss cross-border mobility in pursuit of reproductive health needs: we will look at reproductive flows of individuals seeking abortion abroad, as well as those seeking access to medically assisted reproduction, including surrogacy. We will also address the notions of biopolitics as well as reproductive justice by discussing limitations that sexual minorities, individuals with different family status (singles and couples), and with different ethnic and racial background are facing while pursuing their reproductive rights.
The seminar is organized in monthly block meetings and will take place online via zoom. Readings and course material will be made available on Stud.IP.

The course provides an introduction to 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 employment systems and its most important actors. Here too, contemporary challenges will be discussed and how trade unions and employer organisations have tried to deal with them. In the third and final part transnational influences, such as globalised markets or the European integration, on employment relations will be discussed. The course will mostly meet online and the course language is English. It is an obligatory course for incoming and outgoing MEST students and double degree students from the European Master in Labour Studies and Social Policy. All other MA SozPol and DD students are welcome.

This course introduces students to the field of global health policy. We will learn about key actors such as the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We will also learn about major international agreements in the field of health policy, including the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and the UN Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage. Throughout the course, we will discuss the role that global health policy can play in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The course will take place online.

The course provides an introduction to 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 employment systems and its most important actors. Here too, contemporary challenges will be discussed and how trade unions and employer organisations have tried to deal with them. In the third and final part transnational influences, such as globalised markets or the European integration, on employment relations will be discussed. The course will mostly meet online and the course language is English. It is an obligatory course for incoming and outgoing MEST students and double degree students from the European Master in Labour Studies and Social Policy. All other MA SozPol and DD students are welcome.

Comparative social policy analysis has focused for a long time mostly on the developed countries of the Global North. But not only the wealthy democracies of the North have developed social policy programs. More and more transition economies and developing countries are developing their own programs, increasing social expenditure and are including new societal groups in their social security systems. Despite some episodes of decline, social policy programs continue to increase worldwide. The development dimension of social policies and the social policies of developing countries in the Global South therefore merit special attention.
The course offers a glimpse into the growing literature on global social policy and on social policy in the Global South in four policy fields – pensions, health, work, and education – which are also covered by research projects in the currently running collaborative research center on global dynamics of public social policy.

Comparative welfare state research has for a long time been centred on welfare states of the Global North, and relied on a set of established theoretical approaches to study them. However, as more and more scholars focus on social policy developments in the Global South, questions how developments in these regions can be studied have become more pronounced as well. Should we rely on the theoretical approaches that we already know from the study of welfare states in the Global North, or do we need alternative approaches to be able to capture social policy dynamics in the Global South? Within this debate, an approach that focuses on causal mechanisms can provide a promising way forward.
The aim of this seminar is to introduce students to mechanism-based approaches, and to analyse and compare social policy dynamics around the globe by focusing on causal mechanisms. Students will become familiar with the concept of causal mechanisms and the methodology of process tracing, which can be highly useful for students aiming to conduct case-oriented research. Students will also learn about different welfare arrangements in both established and emerging welfare states, and how they can be studied.
The course will take place online. The course language is English.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to theoretical and experimental research in formal political theory, social choice and experimental political science. This course will cover several key topics that have been studied and developed through a combination of game-theoretic analysis and laboratory experiments. We will analyze participation in elections, voting behavior under different voting rules, and principal-agent problems in a political context. For some of these topics, we will examine in detail the interplay between theoretical predictions and behavior observed in laboratory experiments.
Morton, R. B., & Williams, K. C. (2010). Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab. Cambridge University Press, available as e-book via SuUB.
Mueller, D. (2003). Public Choice III. Cambridge University Press.
Persson, T., & Tabellini, G. (2002). Political Economics: Explaining Economic Policy. Cambridge, The MIT Press.

In the seminar we will examine the development of the welfare state in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We will start by definining the CEE region and looking at the similarities and differences (historical, cultural, political, economic) across CEE countries. We will then focus on the pre-1989 communist welfare state, as well as the unfolding and impact of the post-1989 transition. Then we will discuss the post-1989 development of welfare arrangements in the region (including healthcare, long-term care, family policies, pensions) and the actors involved in shaping policy-making processes. The impact of Europeanization processes, as well as gender aspects will also be considered. The non-exhaustive list of topics includes:
1. Definition of CEE; political, cultural, economic diversity of the region; 1945-1989 welfare arrangements; legacies
2. 1989 change; a triple transition; internal vs. external factors and actors shaping transition paths
3. Social costs of the transition – unemployment, health, demography, public opinion
4. Emergence of new ‘varieties of capitalism’ in CEE; the role of the state and trade unions in CEE; employment relations
5. Policies: pensions, healthcare, long-term care, unemployment insurance, family benefits and services
6. Welfare state and gender in the transition process
7. EU enlargement; social acquis; conditionality; compliance; impact of the acquis on social policy in CEE
8. New world(s) of welfare in CEE.
The seminar is organized in monthly block meetings and will take place online via zoom. Readings and course material will be made available on Stud.IP.

This course aims to provide students with the tools to analyze, understand and explain the relationship between international politics and education policy. How does globalization influence national education policies and vice versa? Which actors are relevant in international education policy, and which theories of International Relations can help us explain the historical development of the field? These (and others) are the leading questions along which the course is structured. Special attention will be granted to the role of norms in international relations, how they have shaped international education policy in the past and continue to do so in the present. International organizations and their autonomous influence vis-à-vis nation states constitute the second key interest of the course. Is the “Golden age” of the nation state over, and what does the supposed transformation of the state mean for education policy?
This class is designed for Master level students and taught in English. In principle, the course is open to Master students from all relevant programmes. It is mandatory for the Double Degree M.A. Education Policies for Global Development. Teaching will be online.

This course will provide an introduction to various aspects of the economics of education. It applies the tools of economic analysis to educational policy and problem solving. Topics include: human capital and signaling theories, returns to education, education and growth, education production, incentives and accountability, as well as empirical methods. The most important reading will be the following (e-)book.
Bradley, S. and Green, C. (2020). The Economics of Education (Second Edition). Academic Press, available as e-book via SuUB.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to behavioral research on fairness, norms and inequality, and to key aspects of experimental design and data analysis. The topics covered include inequity aversion, trust, cooperation, sharing and gender norms, inequality and redistribution. We will give an introduction to statistical software for the data analysis part and play various classroom experiments. The course readings will include published articles as well as chapters from various textbooks (listed in the syllabus).
Morton, R. B., & Williams, K. C. (2010). Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality: From Nature to the Lab. Cambridge University Press, available as e-book via SuUB.

Reproductive rights refer to the composite of human rights that address matters of sexual and reproductive health. Reproductive rights are protected through the application of human rights in guidelines, national laws, constitutions, and regional and international treaties. (…) [They] consist of three broad categories of rights: (1) rights to reproductive self-determination, (2) rights to sexual and reproductive health services, information, and education, and (3) rights to equality and nondiscrimination (Erdman and Cook 2008).
Different aspects of reproductive rights are studied by political science, medicine, public health, law and (bio)ethics.
Reproductive rights remain strongly contested, access to information and services continues to be restricted and individuals are 'denied freedom to manage their lives' in many world regions (Kulczycki 2017), including a number of European countries. On the other hand, advances are made in response to cultural and societal changes. Moreover, developments in medical technology require continuous adjustments of the respective regulations, both at national and regional (e.g. EU) level. Some recent news items offer snapshots of the changing situation in Europe:
https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2019-05/surrogate-mothers-greece-babies-childless-couples-germany-english
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-approves-new-abortion-law/a-47611468
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/24/thousands-join-poland-protests-against-strict-abortion-laws
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/26/ireland-votes-by-landslide-to-legalise-abortion
In the seminar we will focus on how reproductive rights are defined by law and exercised in practice in European countries and internationally. Thus, we will analyze regulatory frameworks and their practical implementation affecting, among other, the provision of sexual education, access to abortion and assisted reproduction technologies. We will discuss cross-border mobility in pursuit of reproductive health needs: we will look at reproductive flows of individuals seeking abortion abroad, as well as those seeking access to medically assisted reproduction, including surrogacy. We will also address the notions of biopolitics as well as reproductive justice by discussing limitations that sexual minorities, individuals with different family status (singles and couples), and with different ethnic and racial background are facing while pursuing their reproductive rights.
The seminar is organized in monthly block meetings and will take place online via zoom. Readings and course material will be made available on Stud.IP.

The course provides an introduction to 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 employment systems and its most important actors. Here too, contemporary challenges will be discussed and how trade unions and employer organisations have tried to deal with them. In the third and final part transnational influences, such as globalised markets or the European integration, on employment relations will be discussed. The course will mostly meet online and the course language is English. It is an obligatory course for incoming and outgoing MEST students and double degree students from the European Master in Labour Studies and Social Policy. All other MA SozPol and DD students are welcome.

The course provides an introduction to 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 employment systems and its most important actors. Here too, contemporary challenges will be discussed and how trade unions and employer organisations have tried to deal with them. In the third and final part transnational influences, such as globalised markets or the European integration, on employment relations will be discussed. The course will mostly meet online and the course language is English. It is an obligatory course for incoming and outgoing MEST students and double degree students from the European Master in Labour Studies and Social Policy. All other MA SozPol and DD students are welcome.

This course introduces students to the field of global health policy. We will learn about key actors such as the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We will also learn about major international agreements in the field of health policy, including the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and the UN Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage. Throughout the course, we will discuss the role that global health policy can play in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The course will take place online.