External Actors and Social Protection in the Global South: An Overview

This chapter provides a brief introduction to this book volume. Firstly, it elucidates the main objective and main research questions addressed in this book volume. Concretely, we ask whether and how external actors and transnational relationships have influenced the formation, development and transformation of social protection in the developing world. The edited volume addresses the need to systematically integrate external actors into the narrative of social policy-making in the Global South to enhance our understanding and knowledge of welfare institutions in regions beyond the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Secondly, this introductory chapter briefly outlines the relevant state of the art such as comparative social policy and global social policy research. Thirdly, it illuminates the types of external actors present in countries of the Global South as well as their main strategies and objectives. Finally, it gives an overview of all chapters of this book volume.