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This Thesis Studies the Basic Income Grant Proposal in Namibia

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This Thesis Studies the Basic Income Grant Proposal in Namibia View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto Tiedekunta/Osasto – Fakultet/Sektion – Faculty Laitos – Institution – Department Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Political and Economic Studies Tekijä – Författare – Author Anu Palomäki Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title Basic Income Grant in Namibia, a Viewpoint on the Proposal and on the Work of the BIG Coalition Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Development studies Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Master’s thesis September 2010 109 Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract This thesis studies the basic income grant proposal in Namibia. The proposal suggests a monthly grant of N$100 (approximately 10€) to all those Namibian citizens who do not receive the state pension. This thesis concentrates on the Basic Income Grant (BIG) Coalition and on its work. The formation and transformation of the coalition during the time period between 2003 and 2009 is analyzed with the help of data collected during two field work periods in 2008 and 2009. The data includes interviews, newspaper articles, observations and other background material. The analysis of this material is mainly conducted from organizational viewpoint. The final part of the thesis applies the results to the theory of Mosse, whose propositions about policy and practice will be discussed in relation to the basic income grant pilot project. The thesis argues that social legitimacy has been a vital resource for the work of the BIG Coalition and it has sought for it in various ways. The concept of social legitimacy originates from the resource dependence perspective of Pfeffer and Salancik, who propose that organizations are dependent on their environments, and on the resources provided by the surrounding environment. This thesis studies the concept of social legitimacy in the context of resource dependence theory. Social legitimacy is analyzed in the relations between the coalition and its environment, in the formation of the coalition, in the responses towards criticism, and finally in relation to the propositions concerning policy and practice. The work of the coalition in the pilot project will be analyzed through the propositions of Mosse concerning policy and practice. The results will describe and analyze key events in the formation of the BIG Coalition from the South African proposal until the end of the basic income pilot project. This BIG pilot project conducted in 2008- 2009 is one of the most well-known activities of the coalition. The clashes between the coalition and its environment will be analyzed through four case studies. It will be shown that the project has been conducted in order to gain more legitimacy to the basic income grant proposal. The conclusion questions the legitimacy of the BIG Coalition as a research and development organization, and requests for more transparent research on the basic income proposal in Namibia. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords development research, basic income, Namibia, non-governmental organizations Tiedekunta/Osasto – Fakultet/Sektion – Faculty Laitos – Institution – Department Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta Politiikan ja talouden tutkimuksen laitos Tekijä – Författare – Author Anu Palomäki Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title Basic Income Grant in Namibia, a Viewpoint on the Proposal and on the Work of the BIG Coalition Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Kehitysmaatutkimus Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Pro gradu -tutkielma syyskuu 2010 109 Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma keskittyy perustulo-ehdotukseen Namibiassa. Ehdotukseen sisältyy N$100 (n.10€) kuukausittainen tuki kaikille niille namibialaisille, jotka eivät saa valtioneläkettä. Näkökulmana on namibialainen Perustulokoalitio ja sen työ. Koalition muodostumista ja muutosta vuosien 2003 ja 2009 välisenä aikana analysoidaan kahden vuosina 2008 ja 2009 toteutetun kenttätyön aikana kootun materiaalin avulla. Tämä aineisto koostuu haastatteluista, sanomalehtiartikkeleista, havainnoista ja muusta taustamateriaalista. Aineiston analyysi on toteutettu pääosin organisaatioteoreettisesta näkökulmasta. Tutkielman viimeinen osa soveltaa tuloksia Mossen teoriaan, jonka policy ja käytäntö - ehdotuksista keskustellaan suhteessa perustuloprojektiin. Tutkielmassa väitetään, että sosiaalinen legitimiteetti on ollut Perustulokoalitiolle elintärkeä resurssi ja se onkin tavoitellut sitä monin tavoin. Sosiaalisen legitimiteetin käsitteen alkuperä on Pfefferin ja Salancikin resurssiriippuvuusteoriassa, jossa ehdotetaan, että organisaatiot ovat riippuvaisia ympäristöistään ja niiden tarjoamista resursseista. Tässä työssä tutkitaan sosiaalisen legitimiteetin käsitettä resurssiriippuvuusteorian yhteydessä. Sosiaalista legitimiteettiä analysoidaan koalition ja sen ympäristön välillä, koalition muodostuksessa, sen reaktioissa kritiikkiä kohtaan, ja lopuksi suhteessa ehdotuksiin, jotka liittyvät politiikkaan ja käytäntöön. Tulokset kuvailevat ja analysoivat Perustulokoalition muodostumisen tärkeimpiä tapahtumia Etelä- Afrikan ehdotuksesta perustulon pilottiprojektin loppuun saakka. Tämä perustuloprojekti toteutettiin vuosina 2008 ja 2009 ja se on yksi koalition parhaiten tunnetuista toimista. Koalition ja ympäristön välisiä yhteentörmäyksiä analysoidaan neljän tapauksen avulla. Esitetään, että projekti on toteutettu, jotta perustuloehdotus saisi lisää kannatusta. Yhteenvedossa Perustulokoalition legitimiteetti tutkimus- ja kehitysorganisaationa kyseenalaistetaan, ja peräänkuulutetaan läpinäkyvämpää tutkimusta perustuloehdotuksesta Namibiassa. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords kehitystutkimus, kansalaispalkka, Namibia, kansalaisjärjestöt Basic Income Grant in Namibia Viewpoint on the Proposal and on the Work of the BIG Coalition Anu Pauliina Palomäki Helsingin yliopisto Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta Kehitysmaatutkimus Pro gradu -tutkielma Syyskuu 2010 Acknowledgements During the research, I have received assistance from countless number of people. Only few of them can be mentioned here, but I am grateful and indebted to every one of those who made this research possible. The family of Stephen Eigowab has generously provided accommodation and meals during my stay at Otjivero. I wish to thank everyone who I had a privilege to interview during my stay in Namibia and especially in Omitara/Otjivero. A very special thank to Sydney !Nowaseb, an interpreter, assistant and a student colleague who had the patience to support me during the data collection process. Table of Contents 1. Introduction...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Country .............................................................................. 2 Poverty and Inequality in Namibia ........................................................... 4 Background of the BIG Proposal in Namibia ............................................ 5 1.2 The Concept of Basic Income and the History of the Proposal .......................... 5 1.3 The Definition of Basic Income ........................................................................ 7 1.4 Aim of the Thesis ............................................................................................. 9 2. Theoretical Background .................................................................................. 9 2.1 Background of the Study ................................................................................ 10 2.2 Organization Theory ...................................................................................... 10 2.3 Non-Governmental Organizations .................................................................. 11 2.4 Coalition as an Organization........................................................................... 13 2.5 Organizational Environment and Stakeholders ............................................... 14 2.6 Resource Dependence and Social Legitimacy ................................................. 14 2.7 From NGO-group to Development Organization ............................................ 16 2.8 Research Question .......................................................................................... 17 3. Methodology ................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Case Study and Fact Perspective .................................................................... 17 Interviews ............................................................................................... 19 Newspapers and Magazines .................................................................... 19 Observations and Background Material ................................................. 20 3.2 Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 21 3.3 Research Ethics .............................................................................................. 21 4. Coalition and its Environment ....................................................................... 23 4.1 Central Elements of the Chapter ..................................................................... 23 4.2 Coalition as an Organization........................................................................... 24 Members of the Namibian BIG Coalition ................................................ 24 Coalition
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