Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Resilience and the Welfare State

Conference at the European University Viadrina Frank-furt (Oder), December 1 and 2, 2023 (on site and online)

Life means facing challenges. The challenges may vary in their nature, magnitude and number. But there are few (perhaps none) who have never faced a difficult situation or crisis. These may be individual crises such as a serious illness, the loss of a loved one or crises related to the circumstances into we were born. But they can also be societal or global crises that test us not only as individuals but also as a collective in our capacity to manage crises management skills. The COVID-19 pandemic or Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have shown that, in addition to medical aid or other forms of technical or financial support, welfare state forms of support are of particular importance. Essentially, however, these measures were aimed at providing temporary relief in acute emergency situations. Recently, terms such as "polycrisis" or "permacrisis" have become established, which on the one hand describe the simultaneity or temporal overlapping of different crises and on the other hand convey the impression that the state of crisis is now to be understood less as an acute exceptional situation and more as a permanent condition. If one adopts this perspective, the question arises whether and how state measures and policies that are intended to support people in crises, but also non-governmental activities in this area, can be designed to promote resilience. Supporting people’s capacity to endure and recover from difficult situations may be of particular importance in the face of persistent states of crisis. The conference aims to explore this question and promote interdisciplinary exchange on this topic - in a hybrid format to enable broad participation. Here we want to exchange ideas, discuss different approaches, and find inspiration in the perspectives of different disciplines.

For further information see https://www.rewi.europa-uni.de/de/lehrstuhl/or/sozialrecht/veranstaltung...

Registration is required via secretariat-hofmann@europa-uni.de