ADM5151 POLITICS OF SOCIAL POLICY
| Course Code: | 3105151 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (0.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 8.0 |
| Department: | Political Science and Public Adm. |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Graduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Prof.Dr. AYLİN TOPAL |
| Offered Semester: | Fall or Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
This course aims to develop a sophisticated understanding of social policy as a battleground for competing visions of justice and governance. The course aims to: (1) uncover the hidden political choices embedded in seemingly technical policy designs (2) trace how historical legacies like colonialism or Cold War geopolitics constrain contemporary policy options; and (3) assess strategies for advancing equitable social policy in an era of climate breakdown, rising social and economic inequalities in an era of financialization.
Course Content
This course is designed to provide graduate students of political science with a solid understanding of historical and theoretical perspectives on the evolution and practice of social policy. For the purposes of the course, social policy is defined as regulatory and direct forms of public intervention to effect societal welfare. The course aims to familiarize students with the underlying causes, dynamics, changing forms and political economic outcomes of social policy.
Course Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
Trace the transnational flow of policy paradigms, from Bismarck’s conservative welfare schemes to the World Bank’s “social safety net” prescriptions for the Global South.
Assess contradictions in state intervention, where progressive reforms (e.g., public healthcare) coexist with punitive workfare regimes and border militarization.
Develop strategic analyses of policy windows, identifying when capital’s legitimacy crises (e.g., 2008 crash, COVID-19) create openings for radical redistribution.
Debate “decommodification” as both a reformist goal and a limit to capitalist discipline
Connect social policies to labor struggles (e.g., how paid leave policies reflect feminist strikes)
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | The ability to interpret and assess the ways in which power is generated and used socially, institutionally, economically and culturally at the local, national and international levels. | ✔ | |||
| 2 | The ability to conduct interdisciplinary studies and research when assessing the social phenomena in the field of Political Science and Public Administration. | ✔ | |||
| 3 | To attain a sound formation regarding the basic topics, like state-society relations, history of political thought, organisational theory, Turkish politics and comparative politics, in the field of Political Science and Public Administration. | ✔ | |||
| 4 | The ability to use the classical and new approaches in social sciences comprehensively and critically. | ✔ | |||
| 5 | To acquire the methodological knowledge and scientific skills which would enhance the capacity to conduct scientific research and produce publications including a M.S. thesis. | ✔ | |||
| 6 | The ability to evaluate the different dimensions of the problems in the policy areas which are studied through the use of different theoretical perspectives and to develop strategies on this basis. | ✔ | |||
| 7 | To uphold ethical principles in science, academy and life. | ✔ | |||
| 8 | To approach the issues by an independent, critical and inventive cognitive orientation, which could also support the professional career development. | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution