The Right to Social Security : South Africa in Between Rights and Relief

Abstract: Social protection has become an important tool in efforts to eradicate poverty in developing countries and also risen strongly on the global development agenda the last decade. This thesis will look at different approaches to social protection and their relation to the human right to social security with South Africa as a case study. In using different scholars in the field of social protection and social justice together with qualitative fieldwork, the thesis explores the importance of social protection and the politics underlying efforts to protect the right to social security of South Africans living in poverty. The thesis suggests that South Africa’s social protection system lies somewhere in between rights and relief and more universal systems comply better with a rights based approach to social protection. Although significant progress has been made to social protection in South Africa the last decade, more needs to be done for South Africa to reduce rampant inequalities and combat poverty in the future.