Stephen Devereux has published a paper in the SOCIUM SFB 1342 Working Paper Series entitled "Policy pollination. A brief history of social protection’s brief history in Africa".

In his paper, Devereux focuses in particular on international donor organisations and their influence on the introduction and design of social protection systems on the African continent. These donor agencies deployed a range of tactics to induce African governments to implement cash transfer programmes and establish social protection systems, Devereux writes. The strategies included (1) building the empirical evidence base for the positive impact of cash transfers; (2) funding social protection programmes until governments can take over themselves; (3) strengthening government capacity to provide social protection systems through technical assistance and workshops; (4) commissioning and co-developing national social protection policies; and (5) encouraging the domestication of international social protection law into national legislation.

Despite these pressures and inducements, some governments have resisted or implemented social protection only partially and reluctantly; either, Devereux says, because they are unconvinced by the measures or because devoting scarce resources to these programmes does not suit their political interests. This raises the question of the extent to which donor agencies' policy agendas conflict with national priorities, and whether social protection programmes and systems would flourish or wither if international support was withdrawn.

Download the paper as pdf: Policy pollination. A brief history of social protection’s brief history in Africa