Samenvatting The Governance And Politics Of Social Problems
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Course
The Governance And Politics Of Social Problems
Institution
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU)
Complete summary of the course The Governance And Politics Of Social Problems. In this summary, all theory comes to bone from the lectures, supported by images from the slides. This summary is sufficient for the exam.
1. Democracy & Europe
2. Polarization and Discontent
3. Welfare states
Flawed democracies and hybrid authoritarianism
Given that many European countries do not have a long unbroken history of democratic
government, the fact that the vast majority of countries in Europe are now functioning,
stable democracies is quite remarkable. It also highlights the fact that nothing is permanent,
and we should not automatically assume that European democracy will continue to flourish.
We are currently in the midst of dramatic political changes in several European countries,
whereby traditional party systems and political conventions are being overturned. This
makes it a fascinating time to study European politics.
Populism
Populists frame the elite and traditional institutions as ‘enemy of the people’.
- Anti-establishment
- Anti-experts / intellectualism
- Pro ‘common sense’
- Simple (and immediate) solutions
- Out-group derogation
Societal polarization: meaningful party competition and can increase political participation
and trust. Yet, portraying opponents as ‘enemies’ undermines democratic values and
practices.
Traditional politics is ‘replaced’:
,Does the moderate center hold?
- Post-war era showed general consensus among political elites in many countries,
supporting free market economic policies and commitment to regional integration
(EU).
- Critics characterized it as a ‘party cartel’, where principled opposition became
replaced with consensus and cooperation among the major parties.
- Not anymore: significant differences emerged between political parties and voter
groups on issues such as immigration, European integration, free market and climate
changes.
- Often portrayed negatively when it comes to the emergence of so-called ‘populist’
parties that challenge the traditional centrist parties.
History & causes of populism
Causes: the global economic crisis, increasing inequality within and between nations and
accompanying anti-immigrant sentiments.
Immigration
Immigration reduces shared cultural norms and communication (language), forcing
European societies to deal with social dilemmas of increasing diversity: multiculturalism
versus or ‘forced’ assimilation, which fuel a politics where ethnic/religious differenced are
politicized.
From inequality to welfare states
What is a welfare state?
- ‘European democracies are characterized by their strong welfare states:
compared to many other parts of the world, European governments tend to
engage in relatively high levels of economic redistribution and typically provide
extensive social protection supports such as pensions and unemployment
assistance to their populations’ – C&R Introduction, p. 5
,Lecture 2
Capitalism, crises, governance
Why ‘governance’
1. Mitigating capitalism & inequality: governance
2. What is governance?
3. Why governance? – the big short
4. How do we organize governance legitimately?
Models of capitalism
- Capitalism is not just capitalism...
- Welfare states were to define European capitalism in ways that were often different
to American capitalism.
Welfare state is a defining factor of a certain model of capitalism.
Different forms of capitalism, depending on welfare state design:
- Anglo-Saxon UK
- Continental Germany
- Nordic Norway
- Mediterranean Italy
A model of capitalism entails much more:
- How do governments pay for social insurance?
- What does a welfare state demand of firms & companies?
o Responsibility
- What are important determinants on that demand?
Factors determining models of capitalism
, Models of capitalism
Important factors in capitalism: market
- Supply and demand
How do governments interact with markets?
- Governments does nothing:
- Government does everything:
Important factors in capitalism:
- Taxes
- Relations in industry
- Welfare state
Role of government might be having employer pay part of the unemployment benefits if
employee gets the sack…
- All models mean government interference to some degree
- Government issue governance is congruence with model of capitalism
What is governance?
- Easiest explanation: intervention
- Through policy
- Act of governing mostly by state, but term also other organizations
o Bedrijfsvoering
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