Social well‐being in an unsettled world : 75 years of the International Social Science Journal

Abstract

Marking the 75th anniversary of the International Social Science Journal, this Special Issue examines social well-being in an era of intersecting crises that deepen inequality, climate disruption, demographic ageing, forced displacement, digital saturation, and changing family and community life. Engaging in dialogue with diverse scholarly perspectives from economics, sustainability studies, psychology, sociology, politics and social work, the issue develops an approach regarding social well-being as a multidimensional and relational human condition. Contributions trace how welfare regimes, financial systems, and technological change shape security, opportunity, and life chances. The articles in this special issue also uncover how climate injustice and socio-ecological degradation undermine livelihoods, cultural continuity, and multispecies futures. In addition, they expose how social ties, community, and belonging buffer loneliness, distress, and marginalisation across the life course. The articles empirically explore these themes in diverse contexts, including digital media use, financial therapy and innovation, later-life poverty, refugee camps, caregiving under health stressors and remote work. This combined scholarly contribution shows that social well-being is produced at the intersection of material resources, institutional quality, social relationships, and ecological conditions, and that it cannot be secured completely through narrow methodological approaches or a single disciplinary insight.