John Berten and Anna Wolkenhauer have edited a special issue about "Reflexivity in Global Social Policy” which has just been published in the journal Global Social Policy. In the issue, which consists of an introduction, five papers, five forum contributions, and a Digest, the editors and authors explore the meaning, relevance, and difficulties of taking a reflexive look at Global Social Policy. This includes unpacking the contingencies of concepts and theories, exposing the positionalities and hierarchies that pervade the field, as well as better understanding the interactions between the academic world on the one, and the policy and practice world of global social policy on the other hand. The issue can be accessed here: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/gspa/23/3
Dr. John Berten is a post-doctoral researcher at Bielefeld University. He is part of the CRC’s B12 project on crisis management of international organizations during COVID-19, in which he focuses on the International Labour Organization. His research interests include the social policy of international organizations and social policy in the Global South; currently, he focuses on exploring the role of quantification in social policy (e.g. indicators) and of futures in global politics.
Dr. Anna Wolkenhauer is a post-doctoral researcher in the CRC’s B09 project on rural social policy in Africa where she focuses on Botswana and Zambia. Her research interests include agricultural policies and visions, social protection, and knowledge production. Previously, she has worked on the reconstitution of statehood after the neoliberal turn.
Publications:
Berten, John. 2022. ‘Producing Decent Work Indicators: Contested Numbers at the ILO.’ Policy & Society 41(4), 458-470.
Berten, John. 2022. ‘The Future as Epistemic Condition: How International Organisations Anticipate Futures of Social Policy.’ Global Society 36(2), 206-222.
Wolkenhauer, Anna. 2023. ‘Everyday sense making and the discursive delineation of social policy space in Zambia.’ In: Social Policy & Administration (online first).
Wolkenhauer, Anna. 2024. ‘Knowing and unknowing the countryside – epistemological implications of rural social policy in Zambia.’ In: Anderl, Felix (ed.): Epistemologies of the Land, Rowman and Littlefield International (forthcoming).
Contact:
Dr. John Berten
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Faculty of Sociology
Universitätsstraße 24
33615 Bielefeld
Phone: +49 521 106-4457
E-Mail: john.berten@uni-bielefeld.de
Dr. Anna Wolkenhauer
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Institute for Intercultural and International Studies
Mary-Somerville-Straße 7
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-57099
E-Mail: anna.wolkenhauer@uni-bremen.de
