Global Social Policy Digest 25.3: Pitfalls and promises of artificial intelligence and new technologies in global social policy

A literature on global and regional social policy has expanded exponentially in the last decade and a half, enriching the discipline of social policy and facilitating new and fruitful collaborations across disciplines. This book explores some of the key concepts and approaches at the forefront of global and regional social policy scholarship. The book engages, in particular, with the work of Bob Deacon, responsible for introducing the term ‘global social policy’. He has not only advanced the study of global social policy but has also considered a focus on both global and regional social policy as an important ‘political commitment’. Contributions to this book come from some of Bob Deacon’s closest collaborators, themselves leading scholars in the fields of global and regional social policy, and all engage critically with key aspects of global and regional global social policy.KeywordsSocial PolicySocial ProtectionGlobal GovernancePension ReformNational Social PolicyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This article follows on from an article written by Bob Deacon on the global politics of social solidarity. The article suggests that in an era characterized by social division and exclusion, global social policy has to pay more attention to concepts like community and solidarity. In doing so, policymakers and policy analysts should consider the impact for local social activism of decades of neoliberal influence on global and national social policy, for instance, sub-contracting social programmes and targeting low-income groups in service provision. Drawing on research conducted from 2004–2017 on grassroots social activism in the United Kingdom, I suggest that shifting practices of solidarity at a local level, particularly as a response to austerity, can provide practical examples and a conceptual framework for global social policy. Rather than assume the existence of identifiable communities susceptible to change through policy intervention, policies should acknowledge the fluidity of local collective identity, which after years of economic pressure and cuts to social welfare, is based on managing and redistributing resources and protecting individual rights. These trends can underpin reform of social policy, namely investing in collective action, especially across diverse ethnic and religious groups, to sustain values, overcome economic and social marginalization, and encourage cooperation over division.

The Expansion of Turkey’s Medical Tourism Industry

Thinking about global social policy can take many paths, ranging from empirical studies to theoretical reflections, from in-depth investigations to conceptual clarifications. This article provides a cultural and constructivist perspective to the debate on how to theorize global social policy. The main argument of this article is that a combination of world society theory and discourse analysis can provide a new and fruitful angle for global social policy research. Such theorizing involves clarifying definitions and conceptualizations, and the development of analytical strategies. The article first points out parallels in the definition of the ‘global’ in global social policy and world society research. Based on these shared understandings, it then introduces the core concepts and assumption of neo-institutionalist world society theory and discusses their implications for global social policy research, with a specific focus on the conceptualization of actors and the debate on homogeneity. Next, it discusses the newly emerging discourse analytical perspective on globalization processes within world society research and its corresponding analytical strategies. The article uses the case of early childhood to exemplify how the formation and transformation of global social policy can be analysed from such a discourse theoretical world society perspective, focusing on the conditions for the formation of statements, the formation of objects and concepts, and the formation of strategies. It concludes by summarizing the theoretical and analytical consequences of this perspective for global social policy research.

INTRODUCTION As has been elaborated on in the introduction to this volume, there are numerous ways of approaching transnational social rights. This chapter maps and conceptualises transnational social rights from a global social policy perspective. This fulfils two aims: on the one hand, it provides an alternative approach to the study and understanding of transnational social rights; on the other, it contributes to the literature on global social policy by adding to recent attempts at conceptualising and theorising this field of study. Case studies are one approach used in the literature on global social policy. Theory-testing has also been used as a way to refine and improve existing global social policy concepts. Bob Deacon and Paul Stubbs have applied common concepts from sociological theory (agency, structure, institution, and discourse) to the study of global social policy, and some chapters in a volume on global social governance approach the theorisation of global social policy and governance with reference to inter- and intra-actor relationships, and as a metatheoretical concept. Nevertheless, it is not only the way, but also the understanding of what exactly makes a theory or a concept, and what the appropriate process of theorybuilding is, that differs between different scholars and disciplines. At the most general level, theory-building has to do with making sense of something. Oft en, it is associated with explanations about what is causing a particular, observed outcome (causal models or relationships). A theory, though, also has to do with a generalisation, and, therefore, theory-building can also take the form of establishing typologies and systematising observed phenomena, which then facilitates further, more detailed, and causal theoretical arguments. This chapter focuses on the systematisation of transnational social rights as one element of global social policies (along with global social re-distribution and regulation). In particular, the meaning of the “social” in global social policy is central here, which contributes to a refined concept of global social policy, and related governance structures, and in this way specifies the meaning and importance of transnational social rights as well.

1. Global and Regional Social Policy Transformations Paul Stubbs and Alexandra Kaasch 2. The Socialization of Regionalism and the Regionalization of Social Policy Nicola Yeates 3. Global Economic Downturn and Social Protection in East Asia Huck-ju Kwon 4. Common Health Policy Interests and the Politics of Rights, Regulation and Redistribution Meri Koivusalo 5. Global Social Justice, Ethics and the Crisis of Care Fiona Williams 6. Climate Change, Social Policy and Global Governance Ian Gough 7. Poverty and Climate Change: The Three Tasks of Transformative Global Social Policy Asuncion Lera St.Clair and Victoria Lawson 8. Antagonism and Accommodation: The Labor - IMF / World Bank Relationship Robert O'Brien 9. Grasping the Social Impact of Global Social Policy: How Neo-liberal Policies have Influenced Social Action in Morocco Shana Cohen 10. Towards a Transformative Global Social Policy? Bob Deacon

This article examines global social policy formation in the area of skilled migration, with a focus on the Gulf Arab region. Across the globe, migration governance presents challenges to multiple levels of authority; its complexity crosses many scales and involves a multitude of actors with diverse interests. Despite this jurisdictional complexity, migration remains one of the most staunchly defended realms of sovereign policy control. Building on global social policy literature, this article examines how ‘domestic’ labour migration policies reflect the entanglement of multiple states’ and agencies’ interests. Such entanglements result in what we characterize as a ‘multiplex system’, where skilled-migration policies are formed within, and shaped by, globalized policy spaces. To illustrate, we examine policies that shape the nursing labour market in Oman during a period when the state aims to transition from dependence on an expatriate to an increasingly nationalized labour force. Engaging a case-study methodology including a survey of migrant healthcare workers, semi-structured interviews and data analysis, we find that nursing labour markets in Oman represent an example of global policy formation due to the interaction of domestic and expatriate labour policies and provisioning systems. The transnational structuring of policy making that emerges reflects a contingent process marked by conflicting outcomes. We contend that Oman’s nursing labour market is an example of new spaces where global social policies emerge from the tension of competing national state and market interests.

A foundational idea in global social policy (GSP) is that the enactment of social policy transcends the nation-state. That is, social policies are formulated in many extra-national sites, spaces and forums that are outside the sole control of national governments and other domestic actors (see Chapters 1 and 2, this volume). If the forms that GSPs take and the conditions under which they develop are distinct from those of national welfare states and social policies, what does this mean for the ways in which we theorise GSP? Few would argue that theories of national social policy development are directly applicable to GSP, but the real questions are whether existing theories can be repurposed for GSP, or whether entirely new theories need to be devised. If the latter, from which bodies of scholarly thought might we seek inspiration for developing GSP theory? What role does theory play in GSP studies? One part of the answer is that theory helps make sense of complexity. Theory systematically – that is, according to a logic – prioritises and orders the many different elements involved in the production, distribution and outcomes of individual and collective welfare and the relationships between them. Different theories vary in their priorities for what they aim to explain, and accordingly emphasise different elements. For example, a theory about the origins of GSP might focus on broad social, economic or political conditions, whereas a theory about how GSP is implemented might focus on institutional design. No single theory can explain all aspects of GSP.

Bob Deacon’s study of the Social Protection Floors initiative, led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), entailed a pioneering study of the making of global social policy. Just how global is this ‘global social policy’ in terms of both its making and its subsequent diffusion? African governments were minimally involved in the making of this global social policy. Most seem to have acquiesced in this global policy-making, as they have with other ‘global’ declarations, in the expectation that it would have little effect on them. Nor, in Southern Africa, is there clear evidence of any significant effect. Even the social protection strategy documents adopted by either the African Union or national governments, typically written by external consultants, have generally avoided direct use of the concept of the social protection floor, while reiterating the commitment to ‘comprehensive’ (and appropriate) social protection that predated the ILO-led initiative. The trajectory of actual policy reform in Southern African countries does not appear to have changed. There continues to be a disjuncture between ‘global social policy’ at the global and African levels.

Global digital platforms have become important actors for economy and work with social policy consequences. This article analyses strategies and actions of global digital platforms from the perspective of how and what kind of global social policy these represent. It draws from analysis of how platform company strategic approaches relate to rights, regulation, and redistribution, and then using abductive reasoning and mixed methods empirical case study in Europe, articulate challenges to future global social policy. It examines what priorities of platform companies imply to global social policy and identifies five political and strategic elements of importance for global social policy: (1) denial or avoidance of employer status, (2) identifying as a “tech company providing services”, (3) focus on private social insurance in contrast to statutory social security, (4) addressing social security as a market-based service through voluntary partnerships, and (5) investor driven business model and global engagement. Drawing from theoretical and empirical data, the article further examines potential countermeasures and solutions, which could be of relevance at different levels of governance. It concludes that social policy impacts of platform economy are more related to the business model than technology. Platform economy business models currently support upward redistribution and avoidance of regulatory measures to address minimum income, social protection, and workers’ rights, yet platform economy is data rich and also could provide scope for government and regulatory action.

Global Social Policy (GSP) has established itself as a distinct field of research over the past 25 years. Without doubt one of the leading figure to this advancement was Bob Deacon. He integrated several explanations and approaches into social policy research that had so far been distinct in other disciplinary fields, including concepts of International Relations (IR). That allowed to explain more about policy autonomy, inter-action between actors at the global level and potential impacts of international organisations on national social policies. Combining IR, organisational studies and GSP, this article wants to go a step further in this vein of GSP theoretical studies. We seek to make a contribution by running through a number of recently popular inter-organisational relations approaches within an IR context, and discuss how, and to what extent, they can be used to make more profound theoretical claims about the nature of GSP. The article first summarises the state of the art in GSP research with a view on international actors, particularly international organisations. Then we describe the specific characteristics of international organisations in existing GSP research and provide a number of theoretical considerations from organisational studies as part of IR scholarship that help construct a more nuanced understanding of how global actors function and interact. We link the theoretical accounts to empirical examples from the GSP literature, and detect what, and how, approaches and frames from this field may usefully tackle challenges GSP scholarship is facing.

Global social politics, policies and programmes of social action have a potent influence on domestic social policy, the terms of social development and the condition of human welfare around the world. They affect the everyday lives of billions of people in myriad ways, impact on individual and collective subjectivities, shape major social institutions, frame policy responses and influence welfare outcomes in ways that, although not always immediately perceptible, are nevertheless highly significant. Building on the successes of the first and second editions of Understanding global social policy (Yeates, 2008, 2014), this third edition provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and accessible collection of research-based student-facing chapters that bring alive and illuminate key issues, themes and debates in contemporary global social policy (GSP). This edition, like previous ones, provides an introductory overview of GSP as a field of academic study and as a political practice of social actors. It is concerned with the ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of GSP. The chapters span a wide range of areas and issues, uncovering the multifaceted scope of GSP, why it is needed, what and who is involved in making it, how it is enacted, what its consequences and impacts are, and what challenges lie ahead. This edition contains a mix of updated chapters from previous editions as well as newly commissioned ones, written by world-leading scholars in GSP. The remainder of this chapter introduces the book as a whole. It discusses the significance of the prefix ‘global’ and what this implies. It distinguishes key features of GSP as a field of academic study and research and as political practice.

This article discusses the conceptualization of global social policy in its dimension of prescriptions on national social policy. By studying the global health systems discourse and comparing it to the discourse on pensions, the applicability and validity of common notions of contestation and struggle between global social policy actors and their ideas are discussed. On the basis of conceptual considerations on global social policy ideas and discourses, the reasons for the differences between the two discourses are elaborated on. The article offers conclusions as to the conceptualization of global social policy prescriptions with regard to notions of the ‘war of positions’ and the promises of the ASID (agency, structure, institution, discourse) framework.

The Global Social Policy Reader collects together for the first time a comprehensive range of key papers by international leaders in the field, from a wide range of sources that explain the concepts, actors and processes that constitute global social policy. It covers the emergence of global social policy as a dynamic and expanding field of study and practice, the transformation of welfare from a predominantly national to a global field of action, and the impact of globalisation on key welfare discourses and governance mechanisms. This original Reader features an introductory chapter by the editors and specially-written comments at the start of each of the sections, which, together with the main readings, provide a comprehensive and accessible guide to the key themes, issues and debates in global social policy. Designed to complement The Policy Press’ Understanding Global Social Policy (2008, edited by Nicola Yeates), the Reader will have broad appeal among undergraduate and postgraduate students in a range of social science subjects, including social and public policy, social care and health studies, sociology, politics, economics, international relations and development studies. The volume will also be of interest to policy activists and policy makers at national and international levels, and to those involved in the planning and delivery of social welfare services and programmes in national and international organisations

This paper does four things. It reviews recent contributions to the literature concerning ‘global social policy’ – understood here as global social redistribution, global social regulation and global social rights. It traces recent developments and initiatives in one of these aspect of global social policy namely mechanisms of global redistribution. It discusses developments in the governance of global social policy arguing that this is increasingly the province of global networks, partnerships and tasks forces somewhat removed from public scrutiny. Finally, it reflects upon the need for and prospects of a global social reformist project and the contribution that both research and political alliances might play in this.