Understanding Global Social Policy 2010 (Hardcover)

As a field of study, global social policy has grown in strength and remit over the last decade and offers a fresh set of perspectives on contemporary debates within social policy. This book is the first student-aimed textbook that comprehensively engages with this field of study, examining the key theoretical and policy debates and issues. Written by an international team of leading social policy analysts, it examines the impact of the prefix 'global' on the ways in which social policy as a field of study is constructed and explores how the globalising strategies of state and non-state actors intersect with social policy concerns, evaluating their impacts upon social welfare. The book emphasises the role of supra-national organisations and international actors in social policy formation and highlights the 'bottom-up' transnational pressures and forces in the formation of global social policy as well as 'top-down' ones associated with intergovernmental fora and organisations. It provides a historical perspective on current developments and debates in global social policy and focuses on policy processes, content and impacts. Designed with the needs of students in mind the book includes useful chapter summaries, illustrative boxes and diagrams, and pointers to relevant websites and other sources of further information that will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate students in social policy, sociology, health studies and development studies.