On April 18, the Poverty Analysis and Social Safety Net (PASSN) Team held a discussion to explore the politics of social protection in Africa.  Research on social protection has tended to focus on issues of finance, institutional design and administrative capacity. However, there is a growing awareness that politics plays a significant role in determining the uptake, design, implementation and sustainability of social protection in low-income countries. Focusing specifically on Africa, this presentation argues that the links between politics and social protection are not only significant, but also multi-dimensional and multi-directional. It proposes a conceptual and theoretical framework that can be used to understand the politics of social protection in Africa, and argues that what is required is to develop a ’political contract’ for social protection between states and citizens. Donors can support this process, while also working towards securing a more global contract for social protection for the world’s poorest people.

Presented by:

Dr Sam Hickey, Lecturer in International Development, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK
Dr. Hickey is a lecturer in international development at the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester. He is a core researcher focusing on the Politics of Poverty Reduction within the DFID-funded Chronic Poverty Research Centre. Dr. Hickey has a broad set of research interests that includes citizenship and participatory development, NGOs and social movements, rights-based development, and the use of political analysis within international development. He is the co-editor of and contributor towards both a forthcoming special edition of World Development entitled ’The Politics of Poverty Reduction: Who Represents the Poorest?’ (June ’05), and a recently published book named ’From Tyranny to Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in International Development’ (Zed, 2004). He has carried out consultancy work for DFID, NORAD, UNDP and several NGOs.

Copies of the presentation (text-only) and discussion notes (text-only) are available, as well as Dr. Hickey's paper, "Thinking about the Politics of Social Protection in Africa: Towards a Conceptual and Theoretical Approach." (text-only)

Web Resources:

Social Protection for Chronic Poverty - February 2005 Conference at the University of Manchester