Darja Zaviršek – författare

What did social work look like under European state socialism – and what can this history teach us today? Darja Zaviršek, the leading scholar on the history of social work in Slovenia and the former socialist countries, uncovers how the profession developed between 1945 and 1990. Drawing on a unique political, social and ideological landscape, this book traces the evolution of social work across Yugoslavia. It challenges simplistic ideological narratives on both sides of the Iron Curtain and offers a nuanced understanding of social work as both a vehicle of state control and a site of empowerment – particularly for women. Providing critical insight into how ideology, gender and welfare intersected in socialist Europe, this book invites reflection on how these histories continue to shape contemporary social work practice and values.

This book provides a wide-ranging exposure of current developments related to war-torn contexts, post-war societies and social work approaches as well as analysis of the key issues facing social work in war contexts. The topic is timely due to the increased number of armed political conflicts; the number of internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers; increased length of wars; and, consequently, increased number of civil victims, which contribute to an exponential growth in the demand for social work. As there are few updated texts on this issue, this book meets the considerable gap existing in the social work literature and includes updates as well as continuing trends.Currently a huge number of countries are in a state of war in different continents, some of which have gone on for more than a decade. Inevitably this fact has considerable implications for their social workers as well as for the people they serve, with social workers in these countries sharing the reality of the war as citizens. The war experience is known to have long-lasting, intergenerational impacts. It also has a strong impact on the many other countries that receive refugees and asylum seekers and/or support militarily another country at war and/or refuse to support it.The book’s country-focused chapters on Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Northern Ireland, Serbia, South Sudan, Syria, UK and Ukraine cover major topics including:·       The contexts of armed political conflicts from a social work perspective;·       The impact of war on disadvantaged individuals and groups;·       Forced migration;·       Post-war societies and post-war reconstructions from a social work perspective;·       The ethical issues related to war and peace from a social work perspective;·       The implication for social work education and research.Social Work in War-Torn Contexts is an important and timely resource for social work and social science researchers, lecturers in different areas of social sciences, social work practitioners, as well as students. Politicians, war correspondents, international humanitarian organizations and volunteers also will find the book of interest.