A human rights critique of contemporary social policy paradigms: new behaviourism, social investment and new universalism

This chapter critically examines three dominant paradigms in contemporary social policy: new behaviourism, social investment and new universalism. It begins from the premise that social policy paradigms shape the framing of social problems and policy responses. Using human rights as an analytical lens, the chapter explores how these paradigms address poverty and interpret the state's obligations in relation to it. The analysis draws on 132 documents (56 on new behaviourism, 31 on social investment, and 45 on new universalism) published primarily in the 2010s and 2020s, including academic literature identified through Web of Science and policy reports from the UN, EU, and select governments in the English-speaking world. The chapter reveals a marked mismatch between the persistence of high inequality and poverty and the limited attention these paradigms devote to such issues, with the partial exception of new universalism. It
highlights how these frameworks frequently overlook critical questions regarding the drivers of social inequalities and poverty, the scope of state obligations, the financing of social provision, and the adequacy of benefits. The chapter concludes by calling for greater engagement from human rights scholarship to critically assess and challenge these influential paradigms.