How is social work shaped by global issues and international problems and how should it address them? This book employs a radical perspective to examine international social work. Globalisation had opened up many issues for social work, including how to address global inequalities, the impact of global economic problems and trends towards neoliberalism. By examining the origins of modern social work, problematising its definition and addressing the care/control dichotomy the book reveals what we can learn from different approaches and projects across the globe. Case studies from the UK, the US, Canada, Spain, Latin America, Australia, Hungary and Greece bring the text to life and allow both students and practitioners to apply theory to practice.

How is social work shaped by global issues and international problems and how should it address them? This book employs a radical perspective to examine international social work. Globalisation had opened up many issues for social work, including how to address global inequalities, the impact of global economic problems and trends towards neoliberalism. By examining the origins of modern social work, problematising its definition and addressing the care/control dichotomy the book reveals what we can learn from different approaches and projects across the globe. Case studies from the UK, the US, Canada, Spain, Latin America, Australia, Hungary and Greece bring the text to life and allow both students and practitioners to apply theory to practice.

At the heart of both the international expansion of social work and the restructuring of social work in Britain are a number of key questions: What is social work? How relevant is its value base to practice? How can its values be operationalized? What distinguishes the social work profession from a 'mere' social work occupation? What is (or should be) the relationship between social work practice and the State? Who determines and controls what the service user needs are, how those needs are met, and which services are delivered? This book addresses these questions by looking at a number of case studies where local social work and welfare projects have had to develop in response to extreme circumstances, including social work and war, social work under conditions of occupation, and social work under military regimes. With international contributions, the book shows how social work responses "in extremis" offer valuable experiences and lessons which can enrich mainstream social work theo