Globalization, contemporary challenges and social work practice

Globalization has had a profound effect on social work practice, changing service delivery; altering the labour process for professional social workers; creating new social problems for practitioners to address, such as people-trafficking and environmental issues; and producing demands for indigenization, or the development of locality specific forms of theory and practice. This article considers globalization in terms of these issues and the impact of the current financial crisis on a more closely connected and interdependent world. It also explores the role of the state in these developments and considers the implications of these for social work practice in the 21st century.