Dr. Johanna Kuhlmann 

University of Bremen, GERMANY
Jul 2022 - Nov 2024
Associate Junior Fellow

Johanna Kuhlmann

Projekte & Publikationen

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.