Globalization and Social Policy in Africa
Keywords:
Globalization, Social Policy, Africa, social scienceSynopsis
Globalization and Social Policy in Africa examines the different areas of significant contact between globalization and the lives of ordinary people in Africa. Through contributions that rely mainly on empirical and historical studies, the 17 authors from all parts of Africa and across a variety of social science disciplines attempt to provide answers as to how Africans understand, confront and relate to the forces of globalization. The authors also address how contemporary and historical dynamics have shaped the way globalization has interacted with and defined the often neglected area of social policy. The studies engage and question current dominant orthodoxies on the importance of social policy for development and social transformation, showing in particular how dominant economic thinking, particularly those emanating from important multilateral institutions, has contributed to undermining the importance of social policy to relevant economic development and social change. With the increasing shift towards a greater understanding of how conventional economic orthodoxies have undermined the development process in Africa in recent decades, this book is a welcome addition to the debate that provides the much needed evidence that is absent in many other contributions.