The concept of social welfare is one of the defining features of modernity in East and Southeast Europe. From the blueprint independent welfare systems established by the nationalising post-imperial states, over the supposedly distinctive social security and redistribution systems under communism to the challenging and economically burdensome post-communist transition, social welfare has come to encompass defining components of state-society relations and human involvement therein. Traditional income maintenance, family and pension policy, as well as health care, education and housing programmes all affect societal dynamics in fundamental ways.

This conference will explore two particular issues in this broader field. First, it will study social policies in relation to demographic dynamics and address social policy as a response to and at the same time attempt to manage demographic challenges. How do social policies in East and Southeast Europe respond to and manage challenges related to age structure, natality and migration?

A second topic of concern are the patterns of social exclusion and inclusion that underlie social policies. To what extent does the redistribution of income through social policy address or generate social inequalities and what are its social and political repercussions? How does social policy interact with gender and ethnicity?

The conferences welcomes presentations that address one or both of the issues above, with particular focus on the following domains:
- Family policy;
- Pension policy;
- Income maintenance programmes;
- Poverty reduction;
- Redistribution policies in housing, education and health care policies;
- Political, institutional and ideological continuities and transformations;

The conference aims to facilitate a multi-disciplinary dialogue between scholars from history, economics, and related fields of the humanities and social sciences. The conference seeks to complement contemporary social policy studies with historical research concentrating on the period from the 19th century to the present. The geographic focus lies on East and Southeast Europe.

Keynote speakers:
Malgorzata Fidelis (Department of History, University of Illinois, Chicago)
Pieter Vanhuysse (Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark, Odense)

Important dates:
January 19, 2018 - Deadline for application submissions
February 23, 2018 - Notification of acceptance
June 7, 2018 - Deadline for full paper submissions (to be disseminated to the discussants)

Applications should be sent to annualconference@ios-regensburg.de (in Word or PDF format) and include:
- an abstract (max. 300 words)
- a one-page CV including institutional affiliation and contact details.

The conference language is English. IOS Regensburg will cover travel (up to 500 EUR) and accommodation costs of presenters.