FIS Forum and Social Policy Biennale 2024

The FIS Forum on days 1 and 2 brought together research, politics, and civil society from the field of German social policy. Therefore, the event had a national focus, and the conference language for the plenary sessions and most panels was German. However, this year we also offered three English-language sessions:

Panel 1: Challenges of the Modern World of Work (November 6, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Panel 5: Social Conflicts and Social Policy (November 7, 9:15 – 10:45 a.m.)

Panel 9: Various Perspectives on Basic Income Support in Germany (November 7, 2:40 – 4:10 p.m.)

Additionally, the poster session on November 7 featured several English-language posters, showcasing interesting research findings as well as information about the DIFIS International Guest Researcher Programme. You can find the flyer for the poster session here.

Last but not least, DIFIS welcomed everyone at the conference dinner on November 6.

Keynote  by Anke Hassel (9:25-10:25 a.m.)

Anke Hassel is Professor of Public Policy at the Hertie School. From 2016 to 2019 she was the Scientific Director of the WSI at the Hans Böckler Foundation. Anke Hassel has international experience and scientific expertise in the fields of the labour market, social partnership, codetermination and the comparative political economy of developed industrial nations. She delivered a keynote on the topic of 'Social Investment, Social Cohesion, and a Strong Labour Market as the Foundations of an Integrated Welfare State' at this year's Social Policy Biennale.

Round-table discussion “Social Policy from an intersectional perspective: Why, how and by whom?” (10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.)

The welfare state not only absorbs but also creates social inequalities. While originally class-related analysis of social inequalities (Esping-Andersen 1990) have been supplemented by gender from early on (Lewis 1992, Orloff 1993), this only applies marginally to migration and race. However, intersectional perspectives on social policy research especially in Great Britain have underlined the significance of race, ethnicity and migration for the formation of welfare states since the early 1990s (Williams 1995; Ginsburg 1992) – arguments and criticism that was hardly integrated in German-speaking research. The round-table discussion “Social Policy from an intersectional perspective: Why, how and by whom?” took up the necessity of intersectional social policy analyses and asks I) which current omissions in science and politics can be avoided, II) how intersectional analyses can be applied and III) which actors are particularly relevant for such research and policies.

Chair: Katrin Menke (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)

Panelists:
Duygu Bräuer (DaMigra – Dachverband der Migrantinnenorganisationen, Umbrella Association of Migrant Women Organizations)
Julia Lux  (Institute for Social Work and Social Education)
Niels Spierings (Radboud University Nijmegen)
Fiona Williams (University of Leeds)

Round-table Discussion „The far right and social policy: international perspectives” (12:15-13:30 p.m.)

We find ourselves in a super election year, with the EU elections, state elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, as well as the U.S. election just three days before the FIS-Forum and Social Policy Biennale 2024. Far-right parties (such as the AfD, Rassemblement National, or the Republicans under Trump's leadership) are gaining voter share or are forecasted to do so. The round-table discussed the impact of far-right parties, both inside and outside of government, on social policy across Europe and North America, as well as the counterstrategies of governments and civil society. The discussion started with an introductory input by Philip Rathgeb.

Panelists:
Daphne Halikiopoulou (University of York)
Heidi Gottfried (Wayne State University)
Philip Rathgeb (University of Edinburgh)