The aim of this course is to supply the students with basic knowledge on the structure of the Norwegian welfare state. Focus will be upon some of the most central welfare arrangements that constitute this state. The institutional “solutions” on welfare demands are also compared with the welfare arrangements that have been chosen by other countries, primarily in Europe. By doing such comparisons it will be possible for foreign students to understand how, and to what degree, welfare politics in Norway differ from those found in other welfare states.
The Norwegian welfare state in a historical and comparative perspective
A major focus is put upon the historical development of the Norwegian welfare state. In order to be able to understand the welfare system in Norway of today it is necessary to go back in time and outline the driving forces behind the development of the Norwegian welfare state. The transition from a “residual” welfare state with selective and incomplete services to a “universal” welfare state with broad and inclusive services will be a key subject. The development in Norway will also be compared with welfare arrangement in other western countries. There will also be a special focus on the contemporary organisation of the social security system and the educational system in Norway.
Familypolitics
The content here is what we broadly might define as family oriented politics in the Norwegian welfare state. While many states are “converging” in the sense that many welfare arrangements are becoming more similar across countries, it seems that in the field of family politics there is a distinct difference between Norway (and other Nordic countries) and most of the other western countries. A comprehensive family oriented social policy has been established in order to make it possible for families and single-parents to combine work and family life with birth and upbringing of children. The focus in the course is both upon cash transfer arrangements and public services that are directed against families with children, with a special weight on the politics in the field of kindergartens.
Health politics
Since health politics are of vital importance for the well being of inhabitants in all countries, this is a field that we might describe as highly politicized. Focus in the course will be put upon the development and contemporary structure of the Norwegian health care institutions. Among the central issues that will be outlined are: the structure and organisation of the primary health care services at the municipal level, the structure and organisation of the hospitals and other health care institutions at the (secondary) state level and the general health politics that are motivated and legitimated by preventive goals.
The teaching of this subject will primarily be given in the form of traditional lectures, supplemented by guided group/seminar work and project work. The students will be evaluated on the basis of a written paper (approximately 10 pages), where the students themselves choose problem formulations which have been approved by the lecturers. The chosen themes/problem formulations are supposed to be picked inside the field of social policy, health policy or educational policy.
There might be organised visits to kindergartens or other welfare institutions.
Compulsory paper written individually
The compulsory paper will be censored and given a grade
Some of the chapters in the following textbooks will be used as curriculum:
Nanna Kildal and Stein Kuhnle (Eds.) Normative foundations of the welfare state: the Nordic experience. London. Rutledge 2005.
Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Duncan Cullie, Anton Hemerijk, John Myles. Why we need a welfare state. OxfordUniversity Press. 2002.
The chapters in these textbooks will be supplemented by reports published by the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs and Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Science.