Synopses & Reviews
In 2012, organizations including the United Nations, G20, and International Labor Organization adopted a global policy initiative known as the social protection floorandmdash;a set of measures designed to ensure that all people have access to essential health care and income security over their lifespan. This book, authored by a leading authority on global social policy, traces the emergence of the social protection floor and identifies the major influences that shaped it: shifts in the worldandrsquo;s social structure, processes inside international institutions, attempts by global actors to create change, and shifts in the global conversation about social protection.and#160;
Review
andldquo;A compelling combination of critical analysis, in-depth observation, and a passionate plea for a social protection floor as a key component of a move towards a more socially just world.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
andldquo;A must-read for anyone interested in global governance, this book offers a richly detailed account of the how the important global social protection floor initiative took shape.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
andldquo;Global Social Policy in the Making exhibits the characteristics of an excellent social policy text. Its conceptually driven, theoretically informed original empirical research produced in the service of wider social transformations makes it essential reading for students, researchers, and policymakers following social policy developments in cross-border spheres of governance.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
andldquo;An important historical and analytical contribution to understanding the evolution of one of the United Nationandrsquo;s key social development initiatives, the Social Protection Floor. . . . An important insight into the fortunes of Basic Income within the United Nations system.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Copublished with the International Labour OrganizationThis book tells the story of the International Labour Organization, founded in 1919 in the belief that universal and lasting peace goes hand in hand with social justice. Since then the ILO has contributed to the protection of the vulnerable, the fight against unemployment, the promotion of human rights, the development of democratic institutions, and the improvement of the working lives of women and men everywhere.In its history the ILO has sometimes thrived, sometimes suffered setbacks, but always survived to pursue its goals through the political and economic upheavals of the last ninety years. The authors have between them many years of experience of working in and studying the ILO. They explore some of the main ideas that the ILO has developed and championed, and tell how they were applied, and to what effect, at different times and in different parts of the world.There are chapters on rights at work, the quality of employment, income protection, employment, poverty reduction, a fair globalization, and today's overriding goal of decent work for all. The book ends with reflections on the challenges ahead in a world where the present economic crisis underlines the urgency of global action for social justice.
About the Author
Bob Deacon is professor emeritus of international social policy at the University of Sheffield. His recent books include Global Social Policy and Governance, World Regional Social Policy and Global Governance, and Social Policy and International Interventions in South-East Europe.and#160;
Table of Contents
List of tables, figures and boxes
List of abbreviations
About the author
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 The global economic and social policy context
Introduction
The era of targeted safety nets
The struggle to re-establish universalism
The North-South progressive impasse
New universalism from below within the Global South
ILO and visions for extending social security
3 The development of the SPF Recommendation
Introduction
From a benefit package to a set of guarantees
Only cash transfers or access to services also
From a global social floor to national SPFs
From a global social contract to national responsibility?
4 The SPF, social dialogue and the tripartite global governance in practice
Challenging path dependency
Steering the SPF through the ILCs
Conclusion
5 The SPF and the struggle for global social policy synergy
Working with the UN
Working with the G8 and G20
Working with the World Bank and the IMF
The new UN SPIAC-B
6 Implications for understanding global social policy change
Recapitulation and explanation
Theories of global social policy change: towards the ASID framework
Using ASID to explain the SPF
Other theoretical considerations
7 Reflections and prospects
Introduction
Assessing the SPF Recommendation
Would the SPF become embedded in the post-MDG UN development agenda?
The ongoing campaigns to implement SPFs
The proposal for a Global Fund for Social Protection
The implications for global social governance
Endnotes
References
Index