Social Protection: Defining the Field of Action and Policy.

This article reviews recent developments in the concept of social protection, beginning with an attempt to establish a working definition of the term. This is set in the context of globalisation and new thinking on connections between the management of vulnerability, risk and poverty on the one hand and long–term economic and social development on the other. The article identifies aspects of the debate which require further development, by exploring the relationship between social protection, equality, social cohesion and rights. It also reviews contemporary definitions of social protection in the policies of donors and international organisations, and summarises lessons to be learnt from experience to date with civil society practices and state policies in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]