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Introduction: social protection in the Western Balkans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2022

Will Bartlett Open the ORCID record for Will Bartlett [Opens in a new window]  and
Milica Uvalić
Will Bartlett*
Affiliation:
European Institute, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
Milica Uvalić
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This introductory essay situates the papers in this Thematic Section within the background of social policy development in the Western Balkans during the long period of transition following the break-up of former Yugoslavia. We identify three stages of transformation of social protection policies. The first, in the 1990s, was characterised by a continuation of the Yugoslav legacy of social insurance, while many work-based benefits were lost during privatisation. In the second stage, international institutions promoted individualised social protection policies, taken up in some countries but avoided in others. In the third phase, EU influence on social policies accompanied the prolonged EU accession process, with an emphasis on the introduction of work-care policies, early childhood education and the remediation of in-work poverty. The four papers address these issues in greater detail and provide a basis for re-evaluating progress with social protection policies in the Western Balkans in the future.

Keywords

Social protectionsocial expenditureWestern Balkans
Type
Introduction
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , July 2022 , pp. 130 - 134
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Social Policy Association

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