IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

230

Democratic Legitimation and Social Policies in the Global South

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC19 Sociology of Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy (host committee)

Language: English

Session Type: Oral

Democracy is frequently seen as an important driver of social policies in the Global South. However, there is a growing disillusion in recent years. Some democratic countries made an authoritarian turn und reconfigured their social policies. In other countries there are persistent authoritarian regimes that sometimes go along with social policy expansions, challenging any simple relation between democracy and social policies. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that even in democratic countries national elites in the Global South might have a limited interest in promoting social policies. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa, there is not much domestic ideational support for rights-based social policies, but rather a strong preference for productivist social policies. Despite lip services, there is also only a limited commitment of national governments to take over donor initiated social policies, clearly pointing towards limits of donor influence. The legitimation of such donor policies has also been questioned, not least in the context of the formulation of global policy goals.

This session is interested in papers that explore the relations between democratic legitimation and social policies in the Global South. It uses a broad notion of social policies that includes health care, agricultural, housing and other policies. It invites case studies or comparative studies of international actors both from the Global North and the Global South, governmental actors on different levels, non-governmental actors or social movements.