Introduction

This has been a difficult book to prepare. For uncovering the complex political history of social work requires more than archival research, historical analyses and engagement with international scholarship. Making sense of the profession's complex past has been an activity akin to ‘soul searching’, an emotionally laborious process. At a time when forms of collective soul searching have resulted in the very future of social work being openly debated, we felt a sense of immediacy in approaching this task (Maylea 2021; Garrett 2021). Despite the fact that this book uncovers and interrogates aspects of social work's past that are disturbing, it is important to stress that our starting premise is that social work is a ‘profession worth fighting for’. No doubt, like most institutions and professions, social work is a contested activity.

However, unlike many other institutions and professions, social work occupies a critical space between state policies and some of the most vulnerable people in our societies. It is exactly such proximity with people affected by inequality and poverty that has led social workers to witness horrendous state brutality. Many social workers, over the years and across all continents, have challenged violence and oppression and sought to radically transform the profession through their engagement with broader social movements (see Ferguson et al, 2018). Jones et al (2004) in their manifesto that provided the basis for the formation of the Social Work Action Network (SWAN) have suggested that:

Both editors of this book had qualified as social workers prior to joining academia. Despite our commitment to social work values, the contradictory and contested social work theory and practice led us, early on in our careers, to question the perceived uniformity of the social work profession.