Politics, Interests and Social Security: Key Drivers of Social Policy in Africa

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue VIII, August 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186

Politics, Interests and Social Security: Key Drivers of Social Policy in Africa

Datti Maryam Ibrahim

Assistant Lecturer, Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, Baze University, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract:-Social policy in Africa is seen to be driven by diverse factors, a close assessment of the different waves of social policy, from colonial Africa to present day social policy shows a provision that is discriminatory; through all era’s of African social policy development the common denominator was a non-inclusive provision.A variety of factors have determined the provision of social policy in Africa in different eras from the colonial era, through the era of decolonisation, nationalism, democratisation and decades that followed. Provision of social policy was driven by attempts to pre-empt uprisings, ideologies of nation building, political elite interests and poor social conditions on the continent. This paper aims to investigate the main drivers of social policy in Africa from the colonial era to the post-colonial era, and present day development of social policy.

Key Words: Social Policy, Politics, Interests, Social Security, Africa.

I. INTRODUCTION

Africa’s state of development has remained a source of concern to all stakeholders, and requires the concerted effortsof its governments in addressing the issues that confront it. Doing this requires an examination of the issues that affect it and suggesting practical ways of synergizing the political economy of such issues to arrive at policies that will advance the continent. This paper examines the effect of politics, interests and social security on the activities and guidelines of governments of Africa in the quest to achieving the welfare or quality of life for its people. Social policy can be described as “the collective interventions to directly affect social welfare, social institutions and social relations. It is concerned with the redistributive effects of economic policy, protection of people from the vagaries of the market and the changing circumstances of age, the enhancement of the productive potential of members of society, and the reconciliation of the burden of reproduction with that of other social tasks.” Mkandawire (2010: 11).

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