Social Policy in the Middle East and North Africa

Social policy in the Middle East and North African (MENA) has evolved significantly over the last decade. Focusing on three key dimensions - allocation, membership, and entitlement - and the way these play out in social programmes led by governments, UN agencies and NGOs, this book presents a wide breadth of case studies across this complex and diverse region. It questions whether recent social policy initiatives signal a move towards universal social policy convergence or, instead, represent a continuation of previous policy trends, perpetuating poverty and inequality.

Leading scholars with extensive first-hand experience of the region offer major conceptual contributions to the comparative social policy literature. They explore recent changes in the wake of the Arab Spring and Syrian and Palestinian refugee crises, and the expansion of social protection, and question the extent to which these developments signal significant and lasting change. The book concludes by providing policy recommendations informed by a broader evaluation of major trends in social policy in the MENA region.

This is a valuable resource for students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels studying international social policy, international development, humanitarian and conflict studies, and international politics. It will also be useful to policy makers in government, donor agencies and NGOs working on social protection in the MENA region.

Contributors include: B. Abu-Hamad, H. Ait Mansour, J. Aljabiri, J.A. Barry, S.I. Bergh, I. Gercama, R. Jawad, N. Jones, M. Loewe, M. Messkoub, P. Pereznieto, E. Presler-Marshall, F. Samuels, I. Selwaness, M. Shaheen