Abstract
Starting from the fundamental tension in the development of the social work profession, between being, on the one hand, bound to local welfare contexts and, on the other hand, striving for emancipation from local contingencies and a professional engagement with social problems on the larger scale, this chapter highlights ecosocial challenges as an opportunity for social work to critically reframe the interaction between the global and the local.
While processes of globalisation and a growing awareness for international and transnational aspects have significantly shaped social work debates over the last decades, ecological crises and increasing claims for an ecosocial reconfiguration of social work add layers and complexities regarding the consideration of global challenges and their implications and impact that must be understood in their local dimension and considering social and territorial inequalities. While current debates on ecosocial work make a strong plea for social work to engage in an agenda of sustainable development and ecosocial transformation, they still need better conceptual frameworks for a critical glocal understanding of the issues at stake.
This chapter introduces a critical ecology perspective pointing out how this framework considers the interconnections between different global crises and their local impact providing a useful lens for a critical ecosocial understanding that points beyond a domesticated service orientation and informs social work’s glocal awareness and engagement for ecosocial transformation.