OAGR 2190 - Risks in Modern Social Contracts in the Americas

***UPDATED for 2025/26***

After many decades of neglect, the concept of “social contract” has reappeared with new vigor. It highlights a fruitful framework in which citizens are endowed with mutual rights and duties. Some of them are enshrined in written law, some in social norms. This framework allows to think of proper institutions that may handle complex interactions between autonomous individuals, organized civil society and the state. The course will seek to identify risks to the stability of social contracts, particularly within the Americas. We shall give particular attention to the role played by the welfare state and its impact on middle classes’ vulnerabilities, the need to broaden the scope of social rights provision, the sustainability of the growth process and the need to reform governance structures.

I can fluently address questions in Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Identify and distinguish risks to social contracts from simple political tensions
• Understand the role of social protection in modern American countries
• Evaluate alternative reforms to governance systems in American countries
• Justify the need to foster growth and protect the environment and communities

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

• Deep understanding of the needs of American social contracts in their unique characteristics.
• Capacity to use and understand a multidisciplinary language without losing precision nor depth in the analysis.
• Intellectual curiosity to complement the elements provided by the environment in which the person is immersed but which never cover all the dimensions of the problems.

While there are no strict prerequisites, students with strong background in economics, sociology and political science will probably benefit the more from the course. Knowledge of the Americas context is very useful.

• Session 4, 10% : selection and justification of topic for research, written procedure
• Sessions 7,8 and 9 20%: Each group must show how its research has advanced. It should specify the research question, discuss at least two papers (at least one per group member), show statistical information being used and make explicit doubts you may still have concerning the research. The use of Artificial Intelligence is allowed only as a support and be properly identified. All the writing must be handmade. Powerpoint presentation.
• March 5, 30%: Written essay
• March 12, 40%: Oral presentation

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Online learning activities: insignificant
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 4 hours a week minimum
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week on average.
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 4 hours the assessment week.