While the idea of ‘sustainability’ appears to be a relatively recent addition to the discursive field of social policy, it is also true that the ‘social’ of social policy has long been interested in issues to do with sustainability, relating to core principles of social justice, equality, welfare and wellbeing, for example, and the possibilities of democracy and being able to live in a safe environment with respect for the natural world. Yet we need a lot more work on sustainability in social policy that reflects and engenders the present struggle for sustainability, and exposes the socio-political and moral conflicts as well as the global governance debates and dilemmas facing the whole of humanity in our globalized world. It is now widely accepted that for a society to be considered sustainable, it must address environmental, ecological, economic and social concerns. Work on sustainable welfare is growing and the trend is sure to continue, complementing more longstanding concerns and debates in this field about the nature of ‘warfare states’, ‘welfare states’, ‘patriarchal welfare states’ and ‘workfare states’.

It is also true that the ‘social’ of social policy, as a field of study, has arguably not received the critical attention it deserves – a gap that this timely volume aims to fill as the coronavirus pandemic has plunged the world into a crisis like no other. The global social crisis runs deep, as we shall see. The effects of global warming, the global ‘climate and environmental emergency’, the ‘migration crisis’, global financial crisis and the latest global health and economic crisis still unfolding reveal the extent of our highly interconnected world, and the scale of the post-national political challenges, nationalism and populism and the withdrawals from international commitments. Global institutions are severely challenged and are struggling to cope with the ongoing adverse social consequences of these crises, but there is hope, for global social policy development and for (transnational) solidarity, in grassroots struggle and the growing number of networks and coalitions mobilizing for change. The 2020s needs to usher in a decade of ambitious action to accelerate socially sustainable solutions to all the world’s biggest challenges and deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.