The Political Economy of Social Welfare Policy in Africa Transforming Policy through Practice

The Political Economy of Social Welfare Policy in Africa: Transforming Policy through Practice is a groundbreaking text that uses a political economy and human rights lens to analyse and critique social welfare policy in selected countries in Africa. Tracing the political transformation of South Africa and other sub-Saharan countries, it provides the reader with critical insight into how social welfare policy evolved during periods of colonial and post-colonial governance regimes and the contemporary period characterised by neoliberal globalisation. The text focuses on the interdependence of economic and social development policies and processes to advance human development and protect the basic human rights of all, especially the poorest and most marginalised.

Part 1: Thinking Policy: the political economy of social welfare policy
1. Transforming social welfare policy: Africa and South Africa
2. The evolution of social welfare policy in Southern Africa
3. Approaches to social welfare policy: characteristics, values and principles
4. Transforming social welfare policy and developmental social welfare services
Part 2: Using Evidence to shape transformative social welfare policy
5. Demographic contexts and social and economic challenges in social welfare policy
6. Poverty, inequalities, risk and vulnerability and social welfare policy responses
7. Social welfare policy as a response to risks and vulnerabilities of families in South Africa
8. Transformational policies and social justice for migrants, refugees and displaced people
Part 3: Making social welfare policy
9. Policy analysis and formulation: using a human rights approach
10. Social welfare policy and transformational participatory processes in South Africa
Part 4: Working with and Transforming social welfare policy
11. The role of the social worker as policy implementer and advocate in South Africa
12. Statutory role in different social welfare focus areas
13. Monitoring and evaluation: impact and outcomes
14. Lessons of experience in transforming social welfare policy in AfricaInternal