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Democratization and Development in Laos

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Democratization and Development in Laos Restructuring Domestic Institutions: Democratization and Development in Laos Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr.phil.) im Fach Südostasien-Studien eingereicht am 31 Januar 2019 an der Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin von Supitcha Punya, M.A. Prof. Dr. -Ing. Dr. Sabine Kunst Prof. Dr. Christian Kassung Präsidentin der Dekan der Kultur-, Sozial- und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Bildungswissenschaftlichen Fakultät Gutachterin/ Gutachter 1. Prof. Dr. Boike Rehbein 2. Prof. Dr. Claudia Derichs Tag de Verteidigung: 4 July 2019 i Abstract The research titled “Restructuring Domestic Institution: Development and Democratization in Laos” aims to analyze how international development norms, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have shaped Laos’ domestic institutions and development policy. It also aims to investigate the influence of international development norms on Lao state power, as well as its capacity to achieve development goals. This research employs a qualitative methodology to obtain relevant data from various parties involved in the development, which include the Lao government, the development partners, the Lao civil society and Lao scholars. The elite interview and process tracing are chosen as overarching tools to select key informants and range of literature for primary and secondary data, respectively. The research results show that: First, the development partners support the SDGs in Laos through international development assistance to the Lao government in four different aspects. These include economic development, environmental sustainability, social inclusion and good governance, all of which have helped shape Lao domestic institutions and development policy to meet international standards. However, the development partners cannot curtail the political power of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (the Party) or the Lao government in manipulating the SDGs to serve a political purpose. Second, it should be noted that the Party is able to maintain its power in domestic politics and control over Lao society by using several strategies. These include blending Marxist-Leninist and national ideologies, highlighting development achievements and suppressing the revolutionary potential of intellectuals, middle class citizens, and civil society. Therefore, the political structure in Laos retains the Party’s power in an institution overlapping between the Party member, the Lao government, the National Assembly and the People’s Court without the citizen’s participation. Third, even though the development partners seek to enhance the Lao state’s capacity to achieve the development goals, the Lao government has encountered difficulties in financial management, human resources and institutional capacities. Keywords: Laos, Lao politics, Lao development, Post-socialism, Sustainable Development Goals ii Abstract Die vorliegende Studie mit dem Titel „Restrukturierung nationaler Institutionen: Entwicklung und Demokratisierung in Laos“ untersucht die Auswirkungen von Normensetzung in der internationalen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, wie etwa durch die „Sustainable Development Goals“ (SDGs), auf Institutionen und Entwicklungspolitik in Laos. Untersucht wird außerdem, wie die internationalen Entwicklungsnormen die Staatsmacht der laotischen Regierung sowie ihre Fähigkeit, Ziele in der Entwicklungspolitik erfolgreich umzusetzen, beeinflussen. Die der Forschung zugrunde liegenden Daten werden mithilfe von qualitativen Methoden gewonnen; von Akteur*innen wie der laotischen Regierung und der Zivilgesellschaft, laotischen Akademiker*innen sowie internationalen Partner*innen aus der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Die zentralen Werkzeuge aus der qualitativen Forschung, die in dieser Arbeit verwendet werden, sind Eliten-Interviews und „Process Tracing“. Diese Ansätze identifizieren Schlüsselakteur*innen und relevante Literatur zu den gewonnenen Primär- und Sekundärdaten. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen erstens, dass sich die Umsetzung der SDGs in Laos durch die Zusammenarbeit von internationalen Entwicklungspartner*innen und der laotischen Regierung in vier verschiedene Dimensionen einteilen lässt: Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung, ökologische Nachhaltigkeit, soziale Inklusion und „good governance“. Alle vier haben dazu beigetragen, Institutionen und Entwicklungspolitik in Laos internationalen Standards anzugleichen. Gleichwohl ist es den internationalen Entwicklungspartner*innen unmöglich, die politische Macht der Laotischen Revolutionären Volkspartei oder der Regierung von Laos einzuschränken, indem sie die SDGs zur Verbreitung einer eigenen politischen Agenda nutzen. Zweitens ist festzustellen, dass die Laotische Revolutionäre Partei in der Lage ist, ihre Macht in der Innenpolitik und ihre Kontrolle über die laotische Gesellschaft durch verschiedene Strategien aufrecht zu erhalten. Diese umfassen Ideologien, die eine Mischung aus marxistisch- leninistischen und nationalistischen Elementen darstellen, die Betonung von Erfolgen in der Entwicklung des Landes sowie die Unterdrückung des revolutionären Potenzials von Intellektuellen, Bürger*innen der Mittelklasse und der Zivilgesellschaft. Dies führt zu einer Konservierung der politischen Struktur in Laos, in der sich die Macht der Partei in einer Institution manifestiert. Diese wird durch Parteimitgliedschaft, Regierung, Nationalversammlung und Volksgerichtshof konstituiert - ohne Beteiligung der Bürger*innen. Drittens ergibt die vorliegende Studie, dass trotz der Bemühungen der internationalen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, die Kapazitäten des laotischen Staats im Bereich der Entwicklungspolitik auszubauen, dieser noch Schwierigkeiten in Bezug auf Finanzverwaltung, Personalwesen und institutionelle Leistungsfähigkeit aufweist. Schlüsselwörter: Laos, Politik in Laos, Entwicklung in Laos, Postsozialismus, Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, Sustainable Development Goals iii Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Dr. Boike Rehbein for his supervision and invaluable dedication during my doctoral study. His intellectual supervision is a very crucial part of this dissertation from the starting point to the finish line. Moreover, I am also thankful to Professor Dr. Claudia Derichs for her suggestion to improve this dissertation. I would like to truly thank Chiang Mai University and Sylff Research Abroad supported by Slyff to provide me a scholarship for conducting research in Laos, Thailand and Indonesia. I would like to extend this thankfulness to Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University for an opportunity to meet Lao scholars to exchange and learn about their knowledge on Lao studies at the Southeast Asia Seminar in 2017. In addition, I wish to express my appreciation to my family, friends both in Thailand and Berlin. Without their help and support, my student life in Berlin would be very difficult. I am thankful to Tarida, Noppachai, Pornthep, Shuhei, Adam, Atcha, Chanisorn, Padcha, Vorawan, Woramon, Jantanee, Witchaya, Siya, Sorayut, Siriporn, Surangrat, Montakarn, Sirima, Lumin, Soo, Christian, Otto, Chanikan, Nut, Kaptan, Philip, John, Johanna and Jeffrey to help me, listen to me and give me a suggestion when I have encountered difficulties. Moreover, I would like to thank to Associate Professor Dr. Parudee, Associate Professor Dr. Pailin, Dr. Chantana, Dr. Chanintorn, Pinsuda, Manita, Thapipon, Pichamon, Nantapong and Sirirat, my colleagues and friends from Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration for their suggestion and support in my academic life. Most importantly, I am grateful to my parent, Patcharin and Teekadet, and my brother, Natagit, for their unconditional encouragement to comfort me during my stay in Berlin. Last but not least, I would like to express my thankfulness to the Lao government officials, the representatives of the development partners, Lao civil society, Lao experts to dedicate their time and effort to fulfill inquiries of the research and their kind assistance when I conducted research in Laos, Thailand and Indonesia. Berlin, 2019 Supitcha PUNYA iv TABLE OF CONTENT Abstract (English) i Abstract (Deutsch) ii Acknowledgement iii List of Tables vii List of Figures viii List of Photos ix Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Research questions 4 1.3 Research methods: Process tracing and elite interview 4 1.4 Limitation of the study 7 1.5 Dissertation structure 7 Chapter 2 Theoretical framework and literature 9 2.1 Development theory 9 2.1.1 International development assistance and democratization 10 2.1.2 Development as discourse: The emergence of the post-development school 11 2.2 State-centered approach 14 2.3 Post-socialist approach 18 2.4 The controversy of the international development norms From the Millennium Development Goals to the 22 Sustainable Development Goals 2.5 Long-term development aspirations of the Lao government and the development debates 26 Chapter 3 Regime legitimacy and state power in the post-socialist Laos 34 3.1 Ideological legitimacy 36 3.1.1 Ideological legitimation for nation building and the socialist transformation 38 3.1.2 The socialist dilemma: How the Party re-legitimized the ideology to deal with capitalism and globalization 40 3.2 Pragmatic acceptance: Development legitimation in post-socialist Laos 46 3.2.1 Development legitimation: Economic development and Graduation from the least developed country status under the Party’s supervision 47 3.3 Revolutionary
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