Femke Roosma has been named professor by special appointment in the Dr J.M. den Uyl chair at the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The chair was set up on behalf of the Wiardi Beckman Foundation. In the coming years Roosma will focus on the welfare state and social policy. 'I want to investigate what people believe are the key objectives of the welfare state, both now and in the future, what changes they believe are necessary and how this change is possible.'
The primary concern of the Dr J.M. den Uyl chair are developments in democratic socialism in relation to science and society. Its previous occupiers include Jan Pronk, Ad Oele, Ed van Thijn, Ad Geelhoed, Frank Vandenbroucke and Sarah de Lange. In the coming years, Femke Roosma will conduct research within the scope of the chair into the welfare state and social policy, and how they can be used to enhance social security and social cohesion.
Shoring up the welfare state
'My specific research focus within the scope of the chair, is shoring up the legitimacy of the welfare state', Roosma explains. 'I want to investigate what people believe are the key objectives of the welfare state, both now and in the future, and what changes they believe are necessary. For example, should the emphasis be on reducing poverty, promoting participation or improving well-being? And what do people believe are the major issues, dilemmas and solutions in that respect?'
In addition, Roosma wants to explore how these beliefs about the welfare state can change social institutions for the better. 'How can we close the gap between social policy and what society believes is important? We are increasingly witnessing social policy experiments with new bottom-up policies, like the "trust-experiments" with regard to social assistance benefits. Do these actually lead to improvements? And in which other ways can new ideas in society contribute to improving our welfare state?'
The Dr J.M. den Uyl chair is named after Joop den Uyl, a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA).
Our social security system is in deep trouble
Roosma is convinced that this is the right time to examine these questions. 'The social security system is one of mankind's greatest inventions, but right now it is in deep trouble in the Netherlands. Poverty is on the rise and people entitled to social assistance are increasingly struggling to get by. Many are facing huge debts, which are not infrequently caused or exacerbated by government policies.' Roosma also points to the significant implementation problems that have plagued a variety of social security schemes and the ensuing criticism and discontent.
Fixing our system
'How can we fix our system in such a way that people experience a return to a human dimension, so that they perceive it as helpful and regain a sense of solidarity?' Roosma believes that the chair offers a wealth of opportunities to pursue research findings that can facilitate this. She is therefore looking forward to finding answers to the questions above through research 'in collaboration with UvA students and colleagues, policymakers and everyone else in society who has an affinity with this topic.'
The Wiardi Beckman Foundation is a Dutch think tank linked to the Labour Party (PvdA). It aims to identify urgent social issues, to analyze them scientifically from a social-democratic viewpoint, and to provide forward-looking advice on them.
The UvA's partnership with the Wiardi Beckman Foundation, which endowed the chair, should provide a boost to the scholarly debate with social partners, politicians and policymakers and to brainstorming sessions on policy proposals, reforms and policy experiments prompted by changing perceptions of the welfare state. 'So that we shore up the legitimacy of the social security system not just on paper, but also in practice.'
Her professorship by special appointment will take effect on 1 July 2023.
About Femke Roosma
Femke pursued a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, a research Master's degree in Social Sciences and a Master's degree in Political and Social Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. In 2016, she obtained a PhD in Sociology from Tilburg University. She is currently working as an assistant professor in Sociology (0.8 FTE) at Tilburg University, while researching the social legitimacy of various components of the welfare state at a comparative (European) level, solidarity, perspectives on 'deservingness' (who is entitled to which benefits and why) and the universal basic income with its related 'basic income experiments'. Her teaching activities and lectures focus on such topics as social policy, the welfare state and social movements. Between 2010 and 2022, Roosma served on Amsterdam's municipal council as a councillor, leading the GroenLinks fraction in the council for the last four years. Her portfolio included health care, participation in society, poverty, homelessness and finance.
