Expansion and Retrenchment in Social Policy: North-South Dialogues

CALL FOR PAPERS (Deadline for abstracts - 12 February 2016): RC19 Research Committee on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy at the RC19 Annual Conference

The RC19 annual conference brings together international scholars in the fields of comparative  welfare state and social policy studies, encompassing a range of disciplines such as sociology,  social policy, political science, and economics. RC19 conference sessions are organized to  reflect the specific conference theme, as well as to discuss ongoing research projects of RC19  members.

Across the globe, over the past 25 years, social policy has experienced deep transformations.  Austerity, retrenchment and marketization have dominated the political debate in the North. In contrast, new policy experiments have multiplied in the South, and social spending has grown  steadily in many countries. These trends make comparative studies on recent paths and drivers  of social policy transformation all the more relevant.

This conference encourages discussions on the extent to which recent changes have modified pre-existing social policy architectures by promoting a global dialogue concerning the drivers of social policy reform, from a comparative perspective.

It also welcomes papers that address the role of economic cycles and deeper, structural transformations in productive regimes vis-à-vis political forces and collective action in explaining continuities and change in the social policy landscape. Studies looking at how global factors have shaped policy change, from the crisis to the Millennium Development Goals and other international efforts, are also encouraged. Have South-North dialogue and policy diffusion played any role in reshaping social assistance, contributory systems and universal transfers and services?

Beyond this general theme, as in previous RC19 annual conferences, members are  also encouraged to submit paper proposals presenting their ongoing social policy research reflecting the diversity of the scholarship undertaken by RC19 members.

Abstracts must be submitted by 12 February 2016

Visit the RC19 website for further details about the conference