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Economic and Social Rights in Authoritarian Regimes: Rights, Well-Being and Strategies of Authoritarian Rule in Singapore, Jordan and Belarus

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Economic and Social Rights in Authoritarian Regimes: Rights, Well-Being and Strategies of Authoritarian Rule in Singapore, Jordan and Belarus Economic and Social Rights in Authoritarian Regimes: Rights, Well-being and Strategies of Authoritarian Rule in Singapore, Jordan and Belarus Ance Kalēja Dissertation for the academic title “Doctor rerum politicarum” In the faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg Institute for Political Science First supervisor: Prof. Dr. Michael Haus Second supervisor: Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant Heidelberg, 2017 Acknowledgments For the privilege of being able to conduct this work, I owe my utmost gratitude to many who have contributed to its realisation in more ways than I can express and possibly even comprehend. First, I extend my sincerest thank you to Professor Michael Haus, who supported me from the very first day, placing in me his trust, offering invaluable advice and continuously challenging my thinking through thought-provoking questions. I have come to believe that his work and approach to his students exemplifies how academia should be and I cherish the honour of having worked under his supervision. While pursuing a doctorate may, at times, be a lonely endeavour, I had the joy of undertaking this experience as part of a Promotionskolleg together with five fascinating individuals. We shared not only an office, but also our individual success, occasional defeats, mesmerising discussions and life itself. It has been my fortune to get to know them, but I owe my deepest thank you to Sophie, whose intelligence, sharp mind, strong opinions and healthy doses of much needed sarcasm resulted in a genuine friendship, which I will always hold dear. My gratitude to my parents Valda and Jevgenijs exceeds all bounds as their love and encouragement has always enabled me to set out to pursue my aspirations. Although they may not fully know the content of my work, they have made it possible by showing me daily that compassion, perseverance and unconditional support are themselves intrinsic values worth striving for. They prioritised my well-being while I was too busy researching that of others, having the possibility to do which I owe to them in the first place. Finally, I thank my partner George from the bottom of my heart, who has lived this experience with me on a daily basis and has had to learn intricately the emotional journey of pursuing a doctorate. George’s curious mind accommodated also helping me with mundane tasks such as proofreading, editing and discussing historical institutionalism, but his thirst for knowledge that stretches across every topic and discipline, has been an endless reservoir of constant inspiration. His love and emotional support made everything seem possible, thrilling and worthwhile. It is our common passion for science fiction literature that has pointed me to works, where more often than one would desire, I find parallels with my own research. Table of contents PART I 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.1 Relevance of the topic ................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Outline of the problem ................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Research focus............................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Research aim and research questions .......................................................................... 9 1.5 Structure of the dissertation....................................................................................... 11 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Resources, Political Regime and ESR: Triangular Relationship .............................. 14 2.1.1 Political regimes and economic growth ............................................................. 14 2.1.2 Economic development and ESR....................................................................... 18 2.1.3 Political regime and ESR ................................................................................... 24 2.2 ESR in Autocracies: Bringing the State Back in ....................................................... 33 2.2.1 Formal institutions matter .................................................................................. 35 2.2.2 Governance strategies matter ............................................................................. 41 2.2.3 Informal institutions matter................................................................................ 49 2.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 55 3 Conceptual Framework: In Search of a Regime-neutral Definition ................................. 57 3.1 Human Rights ............................................................................................................ 58 3.2 Economic and Social Rights ..................................................................................... 65 3.3 Political Regimes....................................................................................................... 73 PART II 4 The Approach ................................................................................................................... 80 4.1 Theoretical Approach: Historical Institutionalism .................................................... 80 4.2 Methodological Approach ......................................................................................... 86 5 Measurement of ESR ........................................................................................................ 92 5.1 Structural Indicators .................................................................................................. 92 5.2 Process Indicators ...................................................................................................... 94 5.3 Outcome Indicators ................................................................................................... 95 5.4 Global Indexes for Case Study Selection ................................................................ 101 5.4.1 Human Development Index ............................................................................. 101 5.4.2 Economic and Social Rights Fulfilment Index ................................................ 103 i 6 Selection of Cases ........................................................................................................... 110 6.1 ESR Performance According to Regime Type ....................................................... 111 6.2 Authoritarian Outliers: Belarus, Jordan and Singapore .......................................... 115 PART III 7 Singapore: Communitarianism, Crisis-mentality and the ‘Non-welfare’ Welfare State 123 7.1 A brief (hi)story of Singapore* ............................................................................... 124 7.1.1 Historically rooted perceptions of political realities ........................................ 127 7.2 Economic development as the overarching component of national interest ........... 131 7.3 Institutionalising ESR through the belief in a recurrent crisis ................................ 134 7.3.1 Survival-driven social policy 1959-1984 ......................................................... 135 7.3.2 From ‘survival-logic’ to ‘crisis-mentality’ 1984 – 2000s ................................ 154 7.4 Aspirations-driven policy with a focus on vulnerable groups as strategy for the new millennium ......................................................................................................................... 176 7.5 Conclusion: ESR in Singapore ................................................................................ 184 8 The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: Well-being, Tribalism and the Modern State ....... 193 8.1 A brief history of Jordan ......................................................................................... 194 8.1.1 Shaping early paths to policy-making.............................................................. 197 8.2 Institutionalising kin and tribal networks as a by-product of co-optation ............... 200 8.3 Determining selective access to ESR 1948 - 1967 .................................................. 206 8.3.1 Citizenship policy and access to rights ............................................................ 207 8.3.2 Evolution of Jordanian identity ........................................................................ 209 8.3.3 Establishing a selective welfare system ........................................................... 213 8.3.4 External legitimacy as the source of a rights discourse ................................... 218 8.3.5 Advancing state objectives through the co-opted rise of civil society ............. 220 8.4 “Jordanising” access to the state 1967-1989 ........................................................... 225 8.5 Civil society as welfare providers from 1989 onwards ........................................... 231 8.5.1 Political liberalisation under authoritarian control .......................................... 234 8.5.2 Addressing poverty alleviation as the main Hashemite priority ...................... 241 8.5.3 The welfare role of apolitical NGOs ................................................................ 246 8.6 Conclusion: ESR in Jordan ....................................................................................
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