Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this lively and accessible second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory.

The updated text includes consideration of contemporary shifts in welfare ideologies in the context of global austerity and the UK Coalition and Conservative governments since 2010. With a new chapter focusing on critical debates about disability, sexuality and the environment, this textbook also includes fresh reflections on migration, conditionality, resilience, social justice and human rights.

Key features include:

•real-life examples from UK and international politics and policy to explain and illuminate the significance of social policy theory;

•key questions for student reflection and engagement; and

•bulleted chapter summaries and annotated further readings at the end of every chapter.

This new edition is a dynamic, engaging and valuable introduction to the key theoretical perspectives and concepts deployed in social policy.

Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this lively and accessible second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory.

The updated text includes consideration of contemporary shifts in welfare ideologies in the context of global austerity and the UK Coalition and Conservative governments since 2010. With a new chapter focusing on critical debates about disability, sexuality and the environment, this textbook also includes fresh reflections on migration, conditionality, resilience, social justice and human rights.

Key features include:

•real-life examples from UK and international politics and policy to explain and illuminate the significance of social policy theory;

•key questions for student reflection and engagement; and

•bulleted chapter summaries and annotated further readings at the end of every chapter.

This new edition is a dynamic, engaging and valuable introduction to the key theoretical perspectives and concepts deployed in social policy.

Poverty remains one of the most urgent issues of our time. In this fully updated edition of her important and widely acclaimed intervention on the topic, Ruth Lister introduces readers to the meaning and experience of poverty in the contemporary world.

The book opens with a lucid discussion of current debates around the definition and measurement of poverty in industrialized societies, before embarking on a multifaceted exploration of its varied interpretations. Drawing on thinking in the field of international development and real-life accounts, the book emphasizes key aspects of poverty such as powerlessness, lack of voice, insecurity, loss of dignity and respect.

Ruth Lister embraces the relational, cultural, symbolic as well as material dimensions of poverty, and makes important links between poverty and other concepts such as capabilities, agency, human rights and citizenship. She concludes by making the case for reframing the politics of poverty as a claim for redistribution and recognition. The result is a rich and insightful analysis, which deepens and broadens our understanding of poverty today. It will be essential reading for all students in the social sciences, as well as researchers, activists and policymakers.

Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this lively and accessible second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory.

The updated text includes consideration of contemporary shifts in welfare ideologies in the context of global austerity and the UK Coalition and Conservative governments since 2010. With a new chapter focusing on critical debates about disability, sexuality and the environment, this textbook also includes fresh reflections on migration, conditionality, resilience, social justice and human rights.

Key features include:

•real-life examples from UK and international politics and policy to explain and illuminate the significance of social policy theory;

•key questions for student reflection and engagement; and

•bulleted chapter summaries and annotated further readings at the end of every chapter.

This new edition is a dynamic, engaging and valuable introduction to the key theoretical perspectives and concepts deployed in social policy.

Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this lively and accessible second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory.

The updated text includes consideration of contemporary shifts in welfare ideologies in the context of global austerity and the UK Coalition and Conservative governments since 2010. With a new chapter focusing on critical debates about disability, sexuality and the environment, this textbook also includes fresh reflections on migration, conditionality, resilience, social justice and human rights.

Key features include:

•real-life examples from UK and international politics and policy to explain and illuminate the significance of social policy theory;

•key questions for student reflection and engagement; and

•bulleted chapter summaries and annotated further readings at the end of every chapter.

This new edition is a dynamic, engaging and valuable introduction to the key theoretical perspectives and concepts deployed in social policy.

Poverty remains one of the most urgent issues of our time. In this fully updated edition of her important and widely acclaimed intervention on the topic, Ruth Lister introduces readers to the meaning and experience of poverty in the contemporary world.

The book opens with a lucid discussion of current debates around the definition and measurement of poverty in industrialized societies, before embarking on a multifaceted exploration of its varied interpretations. Drawing on thinking in the field of international development and real-life accounts, the book emphasizes key aspects of poverty such as powerlessness, lack of voice, insecurity, loss of dignity and respect.

Ruth Lister embraces the relational, cultural, symbolic as well as material dimensions of poverty, and makes important links between poverty and other concepts such as capabilities, agency, human rights and citizenship. She concludes by making the case for reframing the politics of poverty as a claim for redistribution and recognition. The result is a rich and insightful analysis, which deepens and broadens our understanding of poverty today. It will be essential reading for all students in the social sciences, as well as researchers, activists and policymakers.