Social Policy

This short book explores Sweden’s response to the global pandemic and the wave of controversies it triggered. It helps to make sense of the response by defining ‘a Swedish model’ that incorporates the country’s value system and offers a case study for understanding the ways in which different national approaches to the pandemic have been compared.

The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping our politics, economy and society, providing a chance to reset and redesign politics. Ali Milani brings a unique perspective to the key political issues we're facing and inspires a new generation of political leaders from the disenfranchised, disillusioned and marginalised in society.

Experts review the leading social policy scholarship from the past year in this comprehensive volume. Published in association with the Social Policy Association, this volume addresses current issues and critical debates throughout the international social policy field.

Drawing on first-hand accounts from those living under the systems, this novel study explores the impact of Australia and New Zealand’s income management policies and asks whether they have caused more harm than good.

This book synthesises the challenges of researching everyday life for families on low incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve future policy and practice.

Christopher O’Leary provides a fresh perspective on prosocial working choices in this first substantive critique of Public Service Motivation. The book reviews concepts of PSM and research to date and explores the rationales and aims of public and third sector workers before proposing alternative theories for people’s motivations to serve.

Offering a much-needed analysis of the overlooked crisis of food poverty in Ireland, this book brings together the complex picture emerging from interviews with users of food aid, explores the international landscape of food poverty and what action should be taken.

This timely analysis sets out the full impacts of policy reform, austerity and marketisation on our country’s mental health services. Rooted in the experiences of service users and providers, it provides valuable perspectives on our evolving practical and organisational responses to mental distress.

Welfare states are a major feature of many societies. This book draws on qualitative interviews with people receiving various working age welfare payments in Ireland to analyse welfare conditionality and explore stigma, social reciprocity and the notions of the deserving and undeserving poor.

This expert-led review of policy analysis in Spain is the first systematic study to provide a comprehensive overview of how policy actors generate information for the policy-making process.

Thom Brooks draws on first-hand experience and interviews with key figures including past Home Secretaries to expose the UK's Citizenship test as ineffective and a barrier to citizenship. This accessible guide offers recommendations for transforming the citizenship test into a ‘bridge to citizenship’ which fosters greater inclusion and integration.

The word ‘refugee’ is both evocative and contested. In this essential guide for students, lawyers and non-specialists, Colin Yeo draws on his experience as an immigration barrister and key legal cases to explore international refugee law.