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- Convenor:
-
David Jackman
(University of Oxford)
- Stream:
- F: Governance, politics and social protection
- Location:
- G2
- Start time:
- 28 June, 2018 at
Time zone: Europe/London
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
Political settlements are often understood as an outcome of elite bargains, and as therefore reflective of the balance of power between elites. In practice however ‘ruling coalitions’ incorporate diverse actors, and elites have complex dependencies on non-elites. Non-elites can be needed to establish dominance, and more generally elites need to maintain legitimacy among the masses. This panel will explore the importance of non-elites in creating, maintaining and disrupting political settlements.
Long Abstract:
Political settlements are often understood as an outcome of elite bargains, and as therefore primarily reflecting the balance of power between elites. Such a focus draws analytical attention to the roles of national political leaders, parties and powerful business people, however neglects the diverse and complex ways in which non-elites are critical to maintaining political settlements. In practice ‘ruling coalitions’ incorporate a range of actors across different hierarchical levels of society. This includes but is not confined to low-level violence specialists, on which elites have complex dependencies, such as for waging violence and demonstrating dominance. More broadly, political settlements also need a degree of cooperation from, and legitimacy in the eyes of the masses; or in other words, a form of ‘social contract’. The terms of such contracts differ between societies, and can be seen as dynamic and involving diverse factors. They may for example incorporate agreements around the distribution of state resources or the upholding of particular moral norms. Establishing and maintaining such social contracts can be seen as critical to the stability and coherence of a political settlement. This panel will explore the importance of non-elites in creating, maintaining and disrupting political settlements. This will be reflected on through cases from South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
This paper looks beyond state-centred analyses of fragile and conflict-affected countries. It addresses the question of what are the elements of a social contract that can make a society peaceful again, with reference to Iraq and Libya.
Paper long abstract:
One of the key features of fragile and conflict-affected countries is the breakdown of the social contract between the state and key groups of politically relevant actors. As the literature on political settlements has shown, legitimate agreements governing the basic distribution of power and resources among key social groups are necessary conditions for the transition away from violent conflict. These horizontal arrangements between the groups that make up the society are of as crucial importance to restoring societal equilibrium as the vertical social contract between the 'state' and 'society'.
This article looks beyond state-centred analyses to address the question of what are the elements of a social contract that can make a society peaceful again. We start from the assumption that the key determinants of the state-society social contract are the interests and institutionalized relationships of the politically relevant actors that constitute it. Any political settlement must include these actors and must be perceived by them to be legitimate.
Our empirical research focuses on Iraq and Libya. Both regimes were toppled by international intervention and replaced by internationally sponsored governments, which were unable to control the countries entirely, let alone forge a new social contract.
Our analysis reveals that the conflicts of interest of competing groups and externally sponsored 'spoilers' in both cases are so deeply entrenched that repairing their social contracts so that human security can be provided is highly unlikely, given current framework conditions, which include the configuration of national borders and the influence of external actors.
Paper short abstract:
Targeted or universal, social transformation or securing an old political settlement? Nepal is described as having a Scandinavian approach to social protection, but it also has intersecting inequalities, not least rooted in caste. Is social protection failing due to unintended outcomes?
Paper long abstract:
Social protection is emerging as a key state instrument to reduce social exclusion and inequality by providing safety nets to the most vulnerable households, targeting the socially excluded and challenging inter-generational poverty. When also linked to broader state-building, social protection can shape the social contract between citizen and state. It can be an instrument affecting relationships founded in identities based on gender, ethnicity, locality and caste, countering elite monopolisation of political, social and economic capital. However, if handled merely as a technical approach to the effects of exclusion and marginalisation, then social protection might be part of a political settlement that maintains the positions of political, economic and cultural elites.
In 2013-14, 2.1 million persons in Nepal benefitted directly from government social protection programmes, for which NRs 10.5 billion (USD 100 million) were allocated. The potential for generating a new social contract rooted in more inclusive political institutions, welfare programmes that challenged inequality and poverty, and economic growth is considerable. Nepal is seen as having a Scandinavian approach to social protection yet it retains caste hierarchies that have a central role in deeply entrenched inequalities. Targeting as opposed to universal cash transfers in areas such as education, primary health care, pensions, is a contested subject amongst development partners. Unintended outcomes from the decisions being taken, are often being 'missed'. Is social protection itself becoming a missed opportunity?
Paper short abstract:
Political violence is often portrayed as symptomatic of dysfunctional political systems and antithetical to political order. Building on ethnographic data of labourers in Dhaka city, this presentation challenges this view, demonstrating how deeply entrenched political violence can be.
Paper long abstract:
Political violence is often analysed through events such as demonstrations, bombings and killings. These are portrayed as symptomatic of dysfunctional political systems and antithetical to political order. This presentation argues that political violence is far more deeply entrenched than such images would suggest. In societies where political order is contingent on the rent seeking of diverse violence specialists, violence can be inherent to socio-economic and political relations, and constitutive of political order. These arguments will be developed through the case of labourers in Dhaka city.