| CODE | SWP3505 | ||||||||
| TITLE | European Social Policy | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Social Policy and Social Work | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will introduce students to the development of social policy within the European Union. A brief historical overview of the development of the EU from the Treaty of Rome to date and its key legal instruments will be followed by an introduction to various aspects of European social policy; key actors and their respective roles; the legal mandate and modes of policy-making; and the main constituent elements of European social policy today, including the Structural Funds. Students will be introduced to the organising ideas in European Social Policy, including subsidiarity, proportionality, policy transfer, multilateral surveillance and voluntarism. Controversies around the social policy competence and content at EU level will also be explored, as will the tension between the economic and social dimension of the EU. Attention will be paid to the role of supranational policy ideas and their diffusion, including activation, flexicurity and social investment, with particular focus on the latter as it has come to characterise the EU's social policy blueprint for the foreseeable future. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to familiarise students with the purpose, historical trajectories and current issues in European Social Policy. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical appreciation of the EU's social role and the impact of social policy diffusion and of the Structural Funds upon different welfare regimes in Europe. In particular, the unit is intended to deepen students' knowledge of the content of EU social policy and how it has impacted upon policy priorities and implementation in Malta. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the different growth phases in European social policy, and the priorities and key instruments of each. - Describe the institutional framework of EU social policy. - Differentiate between the modes of EU social policy governance, namely regulation; hard coordination; soft coordination; and redistribution. - Describe the European Semester governance cycle, and the role of Country Specific Recommendations in shaping policies and priorities at the level of member states. - Differentiate between the different welfare regimes in Europe, their policy orientation, and the ways in which they have affected - and been shaped by - European social policy. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically analyse the tension between the social and economic dimensions of the EU, and between market-enhancing and market-correcting policy initiatives. - Identify the impact of European social policy upon the development of social policy in Malta, including the fields of employment, social security, health, pensions, migration, poverty and social exclusion. - Critically analyse the ways in which European social policy has both reinforced and refocused the norms and priorities of traditional social policy. - Locate, present and analyse quantitative data sources to analyse social trends, social expenditure, and progress against targets in the European Union. - Locate think tanks in the area of European Social Policy and critically reflect upon their positioning. - Prepare an application for the European Social Fund. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Anderson, K. (2015). Social Policy in the European Union. Palgrave. - Buchs, M. (2015). New Governance in European Social Policy. Palgrave. - Copeland, P. & Daly, M. (2018). The European Semester and EU Social Policy. Journal of Common Market Studies 56(5): 1001-1018. - Hantrais, Linda (2007). Social Policy in the European Union (3rd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. - Kennett, P. & Lendvai-Bainton, N. (2017). Handbook of European Social Policy. Edward Elgar. Supplementary Readings: - Barcevicius, E., Weishaupt, T. and Zeitlin, J. (eds). (2014). Assessing the Open Method of Coordination: Institutional Design and National Influence of EU Social Policy Coordination. Palgrave Macmillan. - Borner, S. (2020). Marshall revisited: EU social policy from a social-rights perspective. Journal of European Social Policy 30(4): 421-434. - Bruzelius, C. (2019). Freedom of movement, social rights and residence-based conditionality in the European Union. Journal of European Social Policy 29(1): 70-83. - Cantillon, Bea and Vandenbroucke Frank (eds) (2013). Reconciling Work and Poverty Reduction: How Successful Are European Welfare States? Oxford University Press. - Cohen, Gary; Ansell, Ben; Gingrich, Jane; and Cox, Robert (2011). Social Policy in Smaller European Union States. Berghahn Books. - Cousins, Mel (2005). European Welfare States: Comparative Perspectives. Sage. - Frericks, P., Harvey, M. & Maier, R. (2010). The 鈥榩aradox of the shrinking middle鈥�: The central dilemma of European social policy. Critical Social Policy 30(3): 315-336 - Katrougalos, George and Lazaridis, Gabriella (2002). Southern European Welfare States: Problems, Challenges and Prospects. Palgrave Macmillan. - Lammers, I.; van Gerven-Haanpaa, M.L. & Treib, O. (2018). Efficiency or compensation? The global economic crisis and the development of the European Union鈥檚 social policy. Global social policy 18(3): 304-322. - Mau, Stefan and Verwiebe Roland (2010). European Societies: Mapping Structure and Change. Policy Press. - Schubert, Klaus; Hegelich, Simon and Bazant, Ursula (2013). The Handbook of European Welfare Systems. Routledge. - Schubert K, Kuhlmann J & de Villota P.(ed) (2016). Challenges to European Welfare Systems. Heidelberg: Springer. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Sue Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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