This book volume focuses on the role of external actors and transnational relationships from a more theoretical perspective in Parts I and IV, while Parts II and III present more empirically oriented chapters. The chapters of this book have contributed to studies on social protection in the Global South by ascertaining the types of external actors involved, how they exert their influence over time (see section "External Actors and Their Strategies from Colonialism to International Aid"), what their main objectives and preferences with regard to social protection look like (see section "External Actors' Objectives and Preferences Regarding Social Protection") and how they interact with domestic actors and in what ways their influence is conditioned, limited or translated by national factors (see section "Interaction with Domestic Factors").