Global Social Policy

Available for on-campus & remote (online) learning. Students participate in interactive, real-time classes. Social policy has long been shaped by the global flow of ideas, as ideologies and models have been exchanged voluntarily between countries; imposed through processes of colonisation; or required by external donors in the name of reconstruction or development. Yet, social policy is often understood as the policies, processes and services provided by governments within national borders, without sufficient consideration of the global context. This course examines social policy in the global context of the twenty first century. We will analyse the impact of ideas, models and approaches developed and exchanged within the international arena on social policy within nations. We will also explore the ways in which approaches to social policy are transferred and shared between countries. We examine key international trends in social policy and the values on which they are based – as well as key critiques of and opposition to those trends. This course will include some comparative analysis of the influence and response to globalised ideas, models and approaches across different countries. In recent years there have been challenges to globalisation and scepticism about the role of global actors. We will explore how and why global ideas around social policy are resisted by some actors. Global Social Policy moves away from the traditional silos of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries, whereby social policy is considered the domain of the former and development the domain of the latter. Rather, we will examine key approaches to social policy, evidence on ‘what works’, and major debates and controversies across the constructs of the ‘Global North’ and the ‘Global South'.