Global Crisis and Transformative Social Change

Global crises not only impact the economy and people's livelihoods, they also unsettle basic ideas and assumptions about the meaning and drivers of development. This collection of theoretical and empirical studies contributes to the global debate about the substance and politics of policy change three years into the 2007/8 crisis. It examines the challenges and dynamics involved from the perspective of development and developing countries. In doing so it engages with some of the most pressing and contested issues. To what extent does the crisis provide an opportunity for moving away from the doctrines and policies that reinforced inequality and vulnerability? What new directions in policy, especially social policy, are required, and are developing countries moving in such directions? Are social forces and political coalitions supportive of transformative change able to mobilize? While the political underpinnings of policy change conducive to social reform - contestation, social mobilization and coalition politics - are energized in the context of crises, the nature of demands and the responsiveness of elites can vary considerably.