Southern African Perspectives for Inclusive Welfare

Southern African Perspectives for Inclusive Welfare provides a comprehensive examination of social policy in the Southern African context. Harnessing interdisciplinary insights from various sociological fields, it challenges the conventional welfare approaches that have proven inadequate for the complex realities of the region.

This volume outlines critical aspects that must be understood and addressed to build welfare systems capable of responding to Southern Africa's intensifying polycrisis, which encompasses climate breakdown, poverty, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and deepening governance challenges. Organised across six thematic sections, the book moves from theoretical and political foundations through empirical analyses of specific policy domains toward a synthetic conclusion, highlighting how social policy challenges and innovations manifest across diverse political, ecological, and socio-economic contexts. Each section demonstrates the systemic character of transformative social policy, an outcome that cannot be achieved without confronting the political economy of donor dependency and the epistemological conditions under which social policy knowledge is produced.

With empirical case studies and analyses drawn primarily from contributions within the region, this book will be of great interest to students and academics of social policy and social welfare, as well as development practitioners, civil society organisations, humanitarian agencies, and policymakers.