Explore the connections between political economy and social policy internationally. Political economy is about the distribution of power and money in society, whilst social policy is about welfare and meeting people’s needs. The unit thus sets out to understand how the distribution of power and money affects the ability of states and other actors to meet people’s needs. It addresses this question through an everyday approach that seeks to link everyday experiences to global phenomena and processes. The first few weeks of the unit discuss various ways in which scholars have theorised political economy and social policy. We then move on to study broad areas of international political economy and social policy, such as debt, housing, work, climate change and race.
By the end of this unit students will be:
o Able to critically assess how political economy shapes social policy at different levels;
o Able to critically assess how everyday experiences relate to global processes;