Bob Deacon is Emeritus Professor of International Social Policy at the University of Sheffield, UK. His recent books are Global Social Policy and Governance, World Regional Social Policy and Global Governance and Social Policy and International Interventions in South-East Europe. He is founding editor of Critical Social Policy and Global Social Policy. He has been an adviser to the International Labour Organisation, UNICEF, United Nations Development Project, UNESCO, the World Bank, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, the European Commission and the African Union.

The global economic crisis continue to dominate headlines, yet measures to build a social floor under the global economy and reform global governance have received little attention. In 2012 the Social Protection Floor was adopted as a global social policy measure ensuring that all could have access to essential health care and income security over their lifespan. This book by the world's leading authority on global social policy examines why and how the Social Protection Floor became ILO, UN and G20 policy and how the World Bank and IMF took steps to lay its foundation. Bob Deacon explains this development in terms of four influences: firstly, shifts in the global social structure, secondly, processes inside international institutions, thirdly, global actors -sometimes individuals - using their positions to make change, and fourthly, shifting discourses about social protection. This much-needed contribution to the field of global social policy will be of interest to students of international relations, international organization and development studies and should be read by international civil servants in global agencies.