Virtual Round Table: Global Social Policy at 25

18 January 2023

In grateful memory of Bob Deacon, former UNU-CRIS Associate Research Fellow.

A Virtual Round Table on Global Social Policy at 25 will take place on Wednesday, 18 January 2023 from 16.00 until 17.30 (Zagreb Time) via Zoom - for Zoom link, – for Zoom link please contact pstubbs@eizg.hr

The book Global Social Policy: International Organizations and the Future of Welfare authored by Bob Deacon (with Michelle Hulse and Paul Stubbs) was published in 1997. This was the first of Bob's three major works on the topic of global social policy, with Global Social Policy and Governance following in 2007, and Global Social Policy in the Making: The Foundations of the Social Protection Floor in 2013. Undertaking research as Director of the Globalism and Social Policy Programme (GASPP) and as founding editor of the journal Global Social Policy, Bob Deacon made a vital contribution to the study of global, transnational and regional social policy combining in-depth analyses of social rights, social regulation and social redistribution with a deep and unwavering commitment to building institutions and programmes for global social justice. Bob Deacon's death, on 1 October 2017, took away a committed scholar and advocate. In the spirit of Bob's work, this workshop addresses the field of global social policy bringing together scholars, activists and those working in international organizations, to take stock of the field of global social policy 25 years after Bob's first book on the topic appeared. What were some of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach that Bob pioneered? What are the key issues in global social policy today, both as a research field and in terms of struggles for social justice? What themes are emerging and deserve greater attention in the future? 

Seven people will provide short introductory remarks to be followed by a broad discussion. All are welcome. 

Facilitators: Alexandra Kaasch and Paul Stubbs 

Panelists (in alphabetical order): Jimi Adesina, Noémi Lendvai-Bainton, Rianne Mahon, Francine Mestrum, Isabel Ortiz, Shahra Razavi, Fiona Williams