POL S 6 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Kleptocracy, Clientelism, National Language
Topics
Freedom and Equality in the Developing World
○
Imperialism and Colonialism
○
The Challenges of Post-Imperialism
○
Puzzles and Prospects for Democracy and Development
○
Four countries/cases covered under this section
South Africa (Today)
§
Iran and Mexico (Thursday)
§
India/Guest Lecture (Next Tuesday)
§
○
•
An overview of Developing countries
What is a developing country?
○
Phrases sometimes used
Third World: Cold War era division
§
Global South: Latin America, Asia, Africa
§
Preferable term is Developing Countries/Nations
Distinction between already-developed and still-developing
countries
□
Has a bias
□
Problematic because it disregards the heterogeneous nature
of the global community
□
Some aren't actually developing at all
□
§
○
•
Better Option: Income Categories
Better way to understand these countries is by looking at income, GDP,
and purchasing power
○
Middle income countries:
Between $4,000 and $13,000 per capita GDP
§
Historically less developed countries but have seen recent and often
rapid growth
§
○
Lower income countries:
Less than $4,000 per capita GDP
§
Many have seen no growth (stagnate) or declining growth in recent
years
§
○
•
What do these countries share?: A Common Legacy
Many developing countries share a common legacy of imperialism
Imperialism: a system in which a state extends its power beyond its
own borders to directly control territory, resources, and people
elsewhere
§
○
Propagated by European powers from 1500s to 1900s
○
Driven by economic, strategic, and religious motives
○
Often led to colonialism (the means for consolidating an empire)
○
Physical occupation of foreign territories
○
What are some of the institutional legacies of imperialism and
colonialism>
History is not destiny, this is just one factor
§
○
•
The Institutions of Imperialism: Exporting the State
New and artificial borders: based on longitude and latitude rather than
ethnicity or pre-existing divisions
E.g. Nigeria has 250+ ethnic groups
§
○
Bureaucratic structures
National language of the imperial power's
§
Police and military
§
Taxation
Mechanism to maintain an impoverished state□
§
Lopsided legal systems implemented
§
Public goods: roads, schools, hospitals, etc.
§
○
•
New or Changed Social Identities
Ethnic and national identities
Created new categories
§
Displacing existing national identities
§
Colonial power structures favored certain groups
E.g. Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda□
§
People wo had previously not identified themselves along one
category suddenly saw their basic rights tied to how the empire
defined their ethnicity
§
Would provide basis for later independence movements
Combo of imperialism and nationalism = instability□
Empires viewed people as subjects and inferior□
Ideas of nationalism inspired independence□
§
○
Gender Roles
Imperial gender roles were imposed on colonies
§
Mixed impact
§
○
•
Dependent Development
Cash-based economies
Replaced bartering
§
○
Mercantilist political economies
Colonies produced primary commodities only
§
Little development of local and regional industry (limiting free
trade)
§
Limits on trade with rival empires
Imperial power determined who you could trade with□
Goods and production carefully regulated□
§
Business monopolies controlled economies
United East India Trading Co. (Dutch)□
British East India Company□
§
Urbanization and Infrastructure expansion
§
○
•
Post-Imperial Challenges
Create functioning institutions
○
Build state capacity and autonomy
○
Generate economic growth
○
•
Why Lack of Capacity
Absence of a professional bureaucracy
Imperial power vacuum
§
○
Politicization of bureaucracy
Clientelism: exchange of goods and services for political support,
often an explicit quid-pro-quo
§
Rent-seeking: a process in which political leaders "rent out" parts of
the state to their patron; these patrons then control public goods
that would otherwise be distributed in a nonpolitical manner
§
○
•
Why lack of autonomy?
Patrimonialism
State captured and exploited for personal gain
§
An arrangement where by a ruler depends on a collection of
supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for
enforcing the ruler's will
§
Kleptocracy: "rule by theft"
Diverting resources□
1990s: Nigerian officials steam over $1 billion□
§
International pressures
More powerful state and international actors shape a state's
political decisions, undermine sovereignty and reduce
autonomy
□
§
○
•
The Problems of Weak Capacity and Autonomy
Increased criminality and corruption
○
Greater civil and communal conflict
○
Inability to respond to disasters and crises
○
Loss of government legitimacy
May lead to greater political instability
§
○
•
Causes and Costs of Corruption
Common causes
Resource trap (nigeria and Mexico)
§
Weak state capacity (Nigeria and Mexico)
§
Lack of effective accountability and rule of law
§
○
Costs
Nigeria: hundreds of billions lost in revenue, loss of regime
legitimacy
§
Mexico: loss of 9% of its GDP every year related to drug trade,
weakening state legitimacy
§
China: estimated cost of $100 billion per year
§
○
•
The Challenges of Creating Nations and Citizens
Causes of ethnic/religious conflicts
Inequality in wealth
§
Political dominance of one group over others
§
Clientelism and ptrimoniaism --> increases ethnic disparities
§
○
Examples
Sunni rule in Shia majority Iraq under Saddam Hussein
§
Alawite monopolization
§
○
•
The Struggles of Women: Property Rights and Gendercide
Laws favor male ownership of property and deny women acess to land or
capital
○
Sultural barriers: men fear the loss of their authority
○
Sex-selective abortions: neglect of girl babies
○
Less investment in daughters (worse education, no health care, etc.)
○
Higher risk of violent conflict and crime
○
•
Three Strategies to Promote Growth
Import substitution: reduce imports to develop local production
Substituting costly things and making the same goods
personally/privately
§
Adopted largely by Latin America and Africa
§
Main policies
Restricting imports□
Raise tariffs and nontariff barriers for those who want to
purchase
□
Industry receives govt. subsidies or becomes parastatal
(partially state owned)
□
Patents and intellectual property rights are weakly enforced□
§
Problems
Protected firms become inefficient□
Fuels corruption□
Harder to import capital and goods; makes consumers pooer□
§
○
Export-oriented industrialization: invest capital in firms that will export
○
Structural adjustment: reduce regulation and trust market forces
○
•
Lecture 16: Developing Countries
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
3:25 PM
Topics
Freedom and Equality in the Developing World
○
Imperialism and Colonialism
○
The Challenges of Post-Imperialism
○
Puzzles and Prospects for Democracy and Development
○
Four countries/cases covered under this section
South Africa (Today)
§
Iran and Mexico (Thursday)
§
India/Guest Lecture (Next Tuesday)
§
○
•
An overview of Developing countries
What is a developing country?
○
Phrases sometimes used
Third World: Cold War era division
§
Global South: Latin America, Asia, Africa
§
Preferable term is Developing Countries/Nations
Distinction between already-developed and still-developing
countries
□
Has a bias□
Problematic because it disregards the heterogeneous nature
of the global community
□
Some aren't actually developing at all□
§
○
•
Better Option: Income Categories
Better way to understand these countries is by looking at income, GDP,
and purchasing power
○
Middle income countries:
Between $4,000 and $13,000 per capita GDP
§
Historically less developed countries but have seen recent and often
rapid growth
§
○
Lower income countries:
Less than $4,000 per capita GDP
§
Many have seen no growth (stagnate) or declining growth in recent
years
§
○
•
What do these countries share?: A Common Legacy
Many developing countries share a common legacy of imperialism
Imperialism: a system in which a state extends its power beyond its
own borders to directly control territory, resources, and people
elsewhere
§
○
Propagated by European powers from 1500s to 1900s
○
Driven by economic, strategic, and religious motives
○
Often led to colonialism (the means for consolidating an empire)
○
Physical occupation of foreign territories
○
What are some of the institutional legacies of imperialism and
colonialism>
History is not destiny, this is just one factor
§
○
•
The Institutions of Imperialism: Exporting the State
New and artificial borders: based on longitude and latitude rather than
ethnicity or pre-existing divisions
E.g. Nigeria has 250+ ethnic groups
§
○
Bureaucratic structures
National language of the imperial power's
§
Police and military
§
Taxation
Mechanism to maintain an impoverished state
□
§
Lopsided legal systems implemented
§
Public goods: roads, schools, hospitals, etc.
§
○
•
New or Changed Social Identities
Ethnic and national identities
Created new categories
§
Displacing existing national identities
§
Colonial power structures favored certain groups
E.g. Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda
□
§
People wo had previously not identified themselves along one
category suddenly saw their basic rights tied to how the empire
defined their ethnicity
§
Would provide basis for later independence movements
Combo of imperialism and nationalism = instability
□
Empires viewed people as subjects and inferior
□
Ideas of nationalism inspired independence
□
§
○
Gender Roles
Imperial gender roles were imposed on colonies
§
Mixed impact
§
○
•
Dependent Development
Cash-based economies
Replaced bartering
§
○
Mercantilist political economies
Colonies produced primary commodities only
§
Little development of local and regional industry (limiting free
trade)
§
Limits on trade with rival empires
Imperial power determined who you could trade with□
Goods and production carefully regulated□
§
Business monopolies controlled economies
United East India Trading Co. (Dutch)□
British East India Company□
§
Urbanization and Infrastructure expansion
§
○
•
Post-Imperial Challenges
Create functioning institutions
○
Build state capacity and autonomy
○
Generate economic growth
○
•
Why Lack of Capacity
Absence of a professional bureaucracy
Imperial power vacuum
§
○
Politicization of bureaucracy
Clientelism: exchange of goods and services for political support,
often an explicit quid-pro-quo
§
Rent-seeking: a process in which political leaders "rent out" parts of
the state to their patron; these patrons then control public goods
that would otherwise be distributed in a nonpolitical manner
§
○
•
Why lack of autonomy?
Patrimonialism
State captured and exploited for personal gain
§
An arrangement where by a ruler depends on a collection of
supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for
enforcing the ruler's will
§
Kleptocracy: "rule by theft"
Diverting resources□
1990s: Nigerian officials steam over $1 billion□
§
International pressures
More powerful state and international actors shape a state's
political decisions, undermine sovereignty and reduce
autonomy
□
§
○
•
The Problems of Weak Capacity and Autonomy
Increased criminality and corruption
○
Greater civil and communal conflict
○
Inability to respond to disasters and crises
○
Loss of government legitimacy
May lead to greater political instability
§
○
•
Causes and Costs of Corruption
Common causes
Resource trap (nigeria and Mexico)
§
Weak state capacity (Nigeria and Mexico)
§
Lack of effective accountability and rule of law
§
○
Costs
Nigeria: hundreds of billions lost in revenue, loss of regime
legitimacy
§
Mexico: loss of 9% of its GDP every year related to drug trade,
weakening state legitimacy
§
China: estimated cost of $100 billion per year
§
○
•
The Challenges of Creating Nations and Citizens
Causes of ethnic/religious conflicts
Inequality in wealth
§
Political dominance of one group over others
§
Clientelism and ptrimoniaism --> increases ethnic disparities
§
○
Examples
Sunni rule in Shia majority Iraq under Saddam Hussein
§
Alawite monopolization
§
○
•
The Struggles of Women: Property Rights and Gendercide
Laws favor male ownership of property and deny women acess to land or
capital
○
Sultural barriers: men fear the loss of their authority
○
Sex-selective abortions: neglect of girl babies
○
Less investment in daughters (worse education, no health care, etc.)
○
Higher risk of violent conflict and crime
○
•
Three Strategies to Promote Growth
Import substitution: reduce imports to develop local production
Substituting costly things and making the same goods
personally/privately
§
Adopted largely by Latin America and Africa
§
Main policies
Restricting imports□
Raise tariffs and nontariff barriers for those who want to
purchase
□
Industry receives govt. subsidies or becomes parastatal
(partially state owned)
□
Patents and intellectual property rights are weakly enforced□
§
Problems
Protected firms become inefficient□
Fuels corruption□
Harder to import capital and goods; makes consumers pooer□
§
○
Export-oriented industrialization: invest capital in firms that will export
○
Structural adjustment: reduce regulation and trust market forces
○
•
Lecture 16: Developing Countries
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 3:25 PM
Document Summary
Problematic because it disregards the heterogeneous nature of the global community. Better way to understand these countries is by looking at income, gdp, and purchasing power. Historically less developed countries but have seen recent and often rapid growth. Many have seen no growth (stagnate) or declining growth in recent years. Many developing countries share a common legacy of imperialism. Imperialism: a system in which a state extends its power beyond its own borders to directly control territory, resources, and people elsewhere. Propagated by european powers from 1500s to 1900s. Often led to colonialism (the means for consolidating an empire) What are some of the institutional legacies of imperialism and colonialism> History is not destiny, this is just one factor. New and artificial borders: based on longitude and latitude rather than ethnicity or pre-existing divisions. People wo had previously not identified themselves along one category suddenly saw their basic rights tied to how the empire defined their ethnicity.
