Dr. Johanna Kuhlmann 

University of Bremen, GERMANY
Jul 2022 - Jun 2025
Associate Junior Fellow

Johanna Kuhlmann

Projects & Publications

Abstract
Abstract of the workshop project – Emotions and social policy
While many disciplines in the social sciences have started to focus on emotions to deepen our
understanding of social processes, emotions have rarely been studied in social policy
research. This is quite surprising given the fundamental role that the welfare state as an
institution plays in the life of most citizens, indicating that people should somehow be
emotionally linked to the welfare state and the benefits it provides. Against this background,
this workshop aims to initiate an interdisciplinary dialogue on the role that emotions can play
in social policy research. The first part of the workshop brings together social policy
researchers and researchers from various disciplines (including public policy, political
psychology, international relations and the sociology of emotions) to discuss on a more general
level how emotions can be fruitfully integrated into the analysis of social policy. The second
part of the workshop consists of three panels that are linked to more specific themes related
to emotions and social policy, in which researchers will present their ongoing work. The first
panel focuses on the role of emotions in normative debates of the welfare state. The second
panel looks into the role of emotions in social policy reform processes. The third panel
illuminates how emotions can be studied empirically.