Vasilios Ioakimidis

Reconceptualizing social work in times of crisis: An examination of the cases of Greece, Spain and Portugal

What started as a peripheral banking crisis in 2008 within five years triggered the deepest recession Europe has seen in decades, escalating to manifold socio-political crises. Under these circumstances, many social workers find themselves in a situation of extreme pressure and insecurity. Traditional theories and orthodox practices are now challenged by frontline social workers. This article explores such a ‘reconceptualization’ process, evaluating recent developments and changes in Spanish, Portuguese and Greek social work. We argue that the current crisis has generated a profound (re)politicization of social workers which leads to the redefinition of the core values and principles of social work.

Expanding imperialism, exporting expertise: International social work and the Greek project, 1946—74

Although dominant interpretations of international social work history argue that the profession has always been unconditionally committed to social justice, the Greek case demonstrates otherwise. The development of the Greek project was in close collaboration with authoritarian regimes and served as a tool for Anglo-American interests in the region.

Domesticating radicalism or radicalising domestic politics? A reply to Trimikliniotis

ABSTRACTTrimikliniotis’ (2018) analysis has captured the contradictions of a political system that has largely failed to grasp the fast pace of change in the structure, economics and ideology withi...

The local–global nexus in social work education and practice

The relationship between the local and the global is a complex and contested one, with little consensus on either its meaning or interpretation in a practice context. Social work research has addressed the linkages between them since the late 1980s, early 1990s and covered issues such as migration, intercountry adoptions and poverty. However, such research has not hit the headlines like Thomas Piketty’s (2014) book, even though similar points were made much earlier. Now, much of the research addresses the local–global nexus, that is, the impact of the local on the global and the interaction in the reverse direction. Recently, social work research has also focused on climate change and environmental degradation as problems of industrialisation that have been intensified under neoliberal globalising regimes that promote the interests of capital at the expense of those of ordinary people and the physical environment. The neglect of social work research in the public arena is linked to the profession’s lack of voice and questioned status as a profession since its inception, although the Global Agenda is attempting to redress this problem. Yet it remains the case that few economists refer to the social work literature, but many social work researchers refer to studies undertaken in economic and other disciplines. The articles in ISW 60(2) continue social work’s history of exploring the challenges of globalisation through the local–global nexus as articulated in social work education and practice. The challenges of globalisation for education, including the danger of imposing Western knowledge and views on entire world, are explored at length in the first article, in which Michele Sogren and Karene-Anne Nathaniel go on to argue for a locality specific, culturally relevant approach to social work by considering the Global Agenda from a Caribbean perspective. The authors highlight the importance of ‘country-specific mandates and jurisdictions’ ‘as the primary determinants of social work practice, education and policy development’. Interestingly, the research they conducted, namely considering the Global Agenda through a focus group, revealed the complicated links between local perceptions of social work as a profession and the desire to respond to macrolevel issues raised by the Global Agenda, especially that of social justice. Travel to study abroad is an important part of the globalisation process within the profession, and is covered by the next article. Travel for educational purposes carries the danger of imposing imperialist ontologies on other countries, while also heightening people’s understandings of themselves and others in the world. Human rights are an important element within these interactions, and require handling with sensitivity and awareness. Orit Nuttman Shwartz and Rebecca Ranz in their article consider the implications of students from Israel and India spending time in each other’s country during a short-term field placement abroad. They discuss both relativism and universalism in upholding human rights within the terminological constraints inherent in terms like ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries. Some social work academics have highlighted the failure of such phraseology to address the presumption of superiority attached in wider discourses around countries considered ‘developed’, and have proposed the use of ‘industrialising’ and ‘industrialised’ countries, the global South and global North, or the one-third and two-thirds world, instead. The student narratives about their experiences indicate differences in priorities, perceptions and interactions between 694111 ISW0010.1177/0020872817694111International Social WorkEditorial editorial2017

The Challenges of Realising Social Justice in 21st Century Social Work

The twenty-first century has thrown some of the world’s most recalcitrant issues at social workers to solve – mass migrations, (hu)man-made and natural disasters, armed conflict, rising inequalities, growing ageing populations, many other forms of socio-economic and cultural uncertainties that are amplified under the growing confidence of neoliberal ideologues as symbolised by the triumph of far right views across the globe, and care for those helping their fellow human beings in such complicated arenas of practice. Responding to these requires nuanced and sensitive practice interventions that are locality specific and culturally relevant. Social workers who aim to practice in an anti-oppressive, human-rights based and ethical manner can gain valuable insights and skills to help them in this work from reading this issue. Vishantie Sewpaul begins the discussion on potential ways forward with a clarion call for emancipatory social workers to be inspired by the legacy left by Nelson Mandela and mobilise for the realisation of social justice in the first article in this bumper issue. This includes working for the peaceful resolution of conflict in an increasingly fractured and fractious world; democratic and ethical governance structures, or what she calls ‘politics with soul’. This message also formed the crux of the Eileen Younghusband Memorial Lecture she delivered at the Melbourne Congress in 2014. Joseph Kuilema continues this refrain in ‘Lessons from the First International Conference on Social Work’. Drawing on the statements of the profession’s pioneers during their first international meeting in 1928, significant for giving birth to the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), International Council of Social Welfare (ICSW) and International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), he shows that its aspirations resonate today: cross-disciplinary collaborations, international activity that respects national identities, increasing professionalism in social work education, personal relationships, and a sense of both urgency and optimism in facing major professional concerns. In ‘Challenges facing international social workers: English managers’ perceptions’, Sue Hanna and Karen Lyons highlight the importance of considering social worker migration within the international labour force. They argue that managers who supervise these workers are responsible for ensuring that they are adequately inducted into the job, and given the support and resources they need to complete their work and progress in their careers. This support was often lacking. While these workers bring benefits to the receiving country, there are considerable disadvantageous for the sending country. For example, Zimbabwe lost over half of its qualified social workers to Birmingham during the 1990s, and this led to a social work labour shortage in their country of origin. Meanwhile, the British state had saved millions of pounds sterling in training funds by not training sufficient numbers of its internal workforce. Timothy P Williams and Justin Rogers explore the social construction of childhood as a deviation from universal notions of the child in their article, ‘Rejecting ‘the child’, embracing ‘childhood’: Conceptual and methodological considerations for social work research with young people’. The rejection of the universal construction of the child and its replacement by child agency and 665981 ISW0010.1177/0020872816665981International Social WorkEditorial editorial2016

Neocolonialism and Social Work

Arguments about the colonial and imperialist character of international social work initially emerged in the 1970s as part of the broader postcolonial movement in social sciences. Since then these approaches have remained on the sidelines of mainstream social work literature. However, the recent reinvigoration of the indigenization debate has provided an important context for social work to reexamine its political character and scope as a ‘global profession.’ This article critically evaluates the evolution of the postcolonial debates in social work. The author argues that the process of social work ‘decolonization’ requires broad alliances with the oppressed populations on the basis of challenging neoliberal capitalism.

Practising social work in a ‘stateless state’; an exploration of the views, experiences and practice of children and family social workers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

ABSTRACT In over 65 years of conflict that followed the creation of Israel and the subsequent occupation of Palestinian land, the official international organizations representing the profession of social work have been in a state of avoidance with regards to dealing with crucial questions about social work under occupation. Until, last year hardly any relevant statement could be traced in the archives of the International Federation of Social Workers and the International Association of Social Workers referring to this issue. This article attempts to provide an initial exploration of the views and every-day professional lives of children and family social workers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The authors investigate and reflect on the challenges and opportunities Palestinian social workers face while working in the context of military conflict. There is a particular focus on the impact of the occupation of Palestinian lands and the experiences of trauma affecting children who seek the support of social services.

Popular Social Work In Extremis: Two case studies on collective welfare responses to social crisis situations

In the wake of an earthquake, a bombing, or a major storm, most people are altruistic, urgently engaged in caring for themselves and those around them, strangers and neighbours as well as friends and loved ones. The image of the selfish, panicky, or regressively savage human beings in times of disaster has little truth to it (Solnit 2009, p. 2).

The challenges of dignity and worth for all: Social work perspectives

This issue of International Social Work contains nine articles focusing on the second pillar of the Global Agenda: ‘Promoting the Dignity and Worth of the People’. This theme provided a great platform for discussions during the enormously successful World Social Work Day (WSWD) and will also be the intellectual epicenter of the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development in Korea. Both occasions offer a unique opportunity for reflection. The social work profession should feel proud about its multi-level and formidable contribution to the promotion of people’s dignity across the world. Articles published in our journal are a testament to the rigorous, creative, and resourceful work educators and practitioners do while defending human rights and promoting social justice. Clearly, both the WSWD and the Joint World Conference are suitable spaces for us to celebrate this contribution and confidently think about the future of social work education and practice. However, when discussing the issue of Dignity and Worth of the People, we should always remember the enormous discrepancy between the rhetoric of states/ international organizations, and the grim realities facing the majority of the world’s population. The year 2016 has so far been one of stark contradictions. The migrant crisis, a rapid increase in armed conflicts, natural and human-made disasters, the rise of Islamophobia, and the securitization of societies are only a few examples of the current challenges facing humanity. These challenges, however, do not affect all of us in similar ways and intensity. As social workers know all too well, it is the most vulnerable and poorest communities who experience the most brutal and devastating consequences of global problems. Here lies the main paradox social workers’ witness in their practice: although modern societies in the 21st century have been able to create enormous wealth and technological innovations that could eliminate poverty, never before have inequalities been so stark and violent. As an Oxfam (2016) Report states, ‘The richest 1 percent now have more wealth than the rest of the world combined’ (p. 1). This why we believe that, while celebrating the rich contributions of our profession to the promotion of people’s dignity, we should be mindful of the structural and political reasons behind the unjustified and colossal contradictions that hinder the prospect of sustainable and socially just global development. The issue begins with a paper from Lambert Engelbrecht, Gary Spolander, Linda Martin, Marianne Strydom, Francis Adaikalam, Päivi Marjanen, Irina Pervova, Alessandro Sicora and Petri Tani, who seek to reflect on knowledge and experiences gained from an International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES). The authors explore the challenges and opportunities inherent in the development and management of a large-scale international research project in social work. Through a synthesis of conceptual frameworks, a process model for international research collaboration is constructed based chiefly on the stages of group development, a conceptual framework for cross-national research, an interdisciplinary teamwork process, and collaborative knowledge building. Collaborative research values and respects the contributions of all. Jacob Mugumbate, in his very timely article, reflects on WSWD celebrations in Zimbabwe. The author argues that WSWD should be used as an opportunity to promote social justice at a global and regional level. The article discusses how Zimbabwe celebrated its first WSWD in 2012 at 648252 ISW0010.1177/0020872816648252International Social WorkEditorial research-article2016

Indigenisation and globalisation: Rethinking social work’s approach to international issues

Indigenisation and globalisation are major themes in the papers in this issue. They provide much food for thought, and we hope questions for discussion and debate will improve social work education theory, practice and policy. Arnon Bar-On’s article ‘Indigenous knowledge: Ends or means?’ begins the issue and sets interesting questions for debate. In it, he analyses the arguments for and against indigenisation in social work and social development and suggests that there is a tension between the ideological ends and the pragmatic ends that proponents of indigenisation proclaim that cannot be avoided. Rephrased in another way, Bar-On considers indigenous knowledge useful in specific contexts for specific purposes, but suggests it cannot address the wider epistemological and ontological issues that are raised by those using indigenisation to transcend Western-dominated discourses that result in the subjugation of locality-specific and culturally relevant knowledge. ‘Whose knowledge counts and why?’, he implies, raises questions about the ‘independent development’ of indigenous knowledge. Also, he questions whether those practising rational thinking would accept the alternative responses offered by indigenous knowledge. To make his point, Bar-On cites the case of ‘Aboriginal Australians teaching their sons to produce bows and arrows’ that reach 25 m in a context of declining game and regulations on ‘hunting that makes them virtually obsolete’. Social work knowledge and understanding flourish through debate, and so we encourage our readers to write responses to the issues raised because there are other purposes for indigenous knowledge which include preserving ancestral heritages, demonstrating that there are viable alternative worldviews that can solve current social problems and the importance of learning from these different perspectives. Bar-On concludes that not opposing modernity would enable indigenous knowledges to achieve more than they do otherwise. We would welcome hearing your views on these points. ‘Social work is context-bound: The need for indigenization of social work practice in Nigeria’ by Ernest Osas Ugiagbe is the second article in this issue. His concern is that Western imperialism has destroyed much of the indigenous knowledge among Nigeria’s 350 groups and cultures, and calls for these to be revitalised by becoming indigenised and asking social workers to play an important role in making this happen at community level. Indigenising in a large country with significant diversities within and between ethnic groups is challenging, but Ugiagbe argues that there are important models of indigenisation that can be useful in achieving a context-specific and culturally relevant social work. Key to this, he suggests, is that social workers practise in a manner that ‘recognizes and values the worth of individuals, families and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each’. While these contexts are crucial to his arguments, there is one context which is absent from his article, and that is the economic and structural fabric of Nigeria, which also requires attention. An important question here, for debate, is ‘How can social workers engage in structural change when it involves challenges emanating from macro-level structures like the economy and national governance?’. Again, we encourage our readers to explore some of 611065 ISW0010.1177/0020872815611065International Social WorkEditorial research-article2015