This open access volume addresses the role of external actors in social protection in the Global South, from the Second World War until today, analysing the influence of colonial powers, superpowers during the Cold War and contemporary donor agencies.

Following an introduction to the analysis of external actors in social policy making in the Global South, the contributions explore which external actors were dominant in the decades after World War II, and how they shaped early and contemporary social protection making in developing countries. The latter half of the collection...

This concise and interdisciplinary open access volume explores the imperative of social policy reform in Sub-Saharan Africa and the potential nature of such a reform. Its chapters study social policy changes that have been made before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those that need to be made towards better protecting individuals, families, and communities against exposure to insecurity, poverty, and other vulnerabilities throughout their lifecycle. As argued, for this to happen, the state needs to play a pivotal role in building harmonised and coordinated social policy systems. The...