The comparative study of social policy seeks to understand how and why politics, along with historical, social, cultural, and economic influences produce collective choices that impact human welfare. Political scientists identify and analyze these choices primarily as governmental decisions or policies but they also acknowledge that non-governmental actors play a major role in decision-making processes. In this course, our focus will be on Central and Eastern Europe. Because this region has been undergoing fundamental changes in recent decades, we need to pay special attention to the ways in which the context of political and economic reforms, in conjunction with international influences, continues to shape these choices and impacts daily lives of people.
This lecture course is organized thematically. Our topics will include a discussion of major theories and methodologies used in the study of welfare states, a comparative analysis of such major issues as historical legacies, gender, globalization, social exclusion, and migration but also a closer examination of the specific policy areas, for example social security (pensions), family policy, and health care. It is impossible in just a few weeks to devote equal amount of time to all countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Our chosen examples will include the so-called Visegrád states of Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. We will also discuss Romania, and, to a lesser extent, also the Baltic States, Russia, and the former Yugoslavia. This selection is largely based on the most current scholarship and the availability of empirical material on these countries. Unfortunately, in regards to Europe as a whole, many countries that include less economically developed areas such as Italy, Portugal, Greece, or Albania, for example, have not been given as much attention as the richer, bigger and the most politically influential neighbors.