Global Social Policy, 1st ed. 2017 Themes, Issues and Actors

Social policy is a subject that helps develop our understanding of the meaning of human wellbeing, and of the systems by which wellbeing must be promoted. As a discipline, social policy has traditionally been blunted by a focus on the nation state; however, in this age of globalisation the most pressing challenges ? such as climate change, ageing populations and flagging economies ? serve as proof that, even at national level, social policy is now more heavily influenced by global factors than ever before.

In this important and authoritative text, Kepa Artaraz and Michael Hill provide a richly detailed contribution to our understanding of the global forces shaping social problems today. Part One discusses the different approaches to social policy and explores the process of globalisation, looking particularly at its winners and losers and the implications it has for human well-being; Part Two examines more closely the key actors in global social policy ? such as the market, the state and international organisations; and Part Three provides an opportunity to explore some specific key issues of global importance, such as employment and migration, demographic change and global poverty.

Adding considerable momentum to the movement away from a reductionist, nationally focused study of the discipline, Global Social Policy opens up new and stimulating discussions and provides a fresh framework for the study of human well-being. Using policy examples from areas around the world to provide a truly international scope, it is an essential read for students studying at all levels.

PART I: PRELIMINARIES 1. Approaches to Social Policy: From Social Policy, to Comparative Social Policy to Global Social Policy.- 2. Social Policy in the Global Age.- PART II: SPHERES OF ACTION IN GLOBAL SOCIAL POLICY 3. The Market, its Main Tenets and its Global Guardians.- 4. The Power of the State and International Organisations.- 5. Global Civil Society: New Forms of Participation and Spaces for Change?.- PART III: ISSUES IN GLOBAL SOCIAL POLICY 6. Global Poverty.- 7. The Global Dimensions of Health; Mei L. Trueba.- 8. Demographic Change and Family Life.- 9. Employment and Migration.- 10. Climate Change and the Environment.- 11. Social Policy and our Common (Global) Future.

Kepa Artaraz is Principal Lecturer in Applied Social Science at the University of Brighton, UK.

Michael Hill is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of Newcastle, UK.

An engaging introduction to a growing area of interest