Organizers Szandra Kramarics and Dorottya Szikra welcome applications for their section organized at this year's European Social Policy Analysis (ESPAnet) conference (August 28-30, 2024, Tampere, Finland).

Details: https://events.tuni.fi/espanet2024/streams/

Abstracts of 500 words can be submitted by April 25, 2024 here: https://espanet2024.exordo.com 

Description of the section:

13. New trends in social policy in Europe and its periphery. Inclusionary and exclusionary processes amidst crisis

Subsequent crises of recent years (migration, Covid-19, war(s), inflation, demographic change etc.) have confronted welfare states with new challenges in the past decade. Meanwhile, right-wing populist rule gained increasing ground in a number of countries in Europe and its periphery. Extreme political polarization and autocratizing tendencies led to a crisis of democracy in numerous countries, challenging the modus operandi of the European Union itself. The impact of these crises differs greatly. Some countries expanded their welfare effort, while others introduced further austerity. In some instances, we see a departure from former neoliberal policies towards more universalism in social policy, and this happens not only under democratic circumstances. The fiscalization of welfare, as well as novel programs that fall into the category of “social policy by other means” are increasingly widespread in more affluent and poorer countries, including those that experience populism and democratic decline. In this stream, we invite research that examines the welfare impact of various crises in European countries including East-Central Europe, the post-Soviet states, and the periphery of Europe. We particularly welcome submissions from countries that are less in the focus of mainstream social policy research, like post-Soviet states, Turkey or Israel. Papers that highlight the possibilities of social policy making under limited political and discursive opportunity structures are of special interest. We welcome comparative works and single-country studies alike. Research focusing on inclusionary and exclusionary processes with a gendered and intersectional approach are of particular interest. We also welcome qualitative work scrutinizing personal experiences of beneficiaries, or those excluded by novel social policy programs.