Johannes Dragsbæk Schmidt

Welfare capitalism in Southeast Asia : social security, health and education policies

List of Tables Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction Economic Conditions in Southeast Asia Social Security M.G.Asher Health Education The Political Economy of Social Policies Conclusion: Social Welfare Policies in Southeast Asia and the Economic Crisis References Index

Neoliberal globalization: Workfare without welfare

Abstract This article presents a critical review of capitalist variants, their historical foundations and functional perspectives, and the way they have been co-opted by contemporary neoliberalism. This is related to the twin strategies of industrial paths and social policies which set the scene for the different models and strategies to promote capitalism. Subsequently, the analysis attempts to provide a coherent understanding of the historical and contextual embeddedness of the differences between the various forms of capitalism. The focus is on the interactions of state, capital and labour in advanced societies in the context of the international system. The article contributes to establishing a specific typology by identifying differences and similarities between the two most successful variants of modern capitalism: the welfare state and the developmental state models. Finally, the counter-attack of neoliberalism and the need for alternatives to both the workfare and welfare models of capitalism are discussed.

The New Political Economy of Southeast Asia

This well-researched book examines the dramatic transformation of Southeast Asian countries from agricultural and mining economies to industrial nations. In doing so, it explores the effects of development policy on a number of interdisciplinary issues, and the emergence of new social and political pressures created by industrialization. These include their heightened vulnerability to complex economic crises, their use of sophisticated instruments in the labour process and increased awareness of environmental issues. The distinguished authors present a regional and cross-border focus on transnational actors and institutions, and the policy issues and problems which have a wider impact on spatial configurations in the region. This insightful study will appeal to researchers, academics and policymakers working on the economics and development of Southeast Asia.

Flexicurity, Casualization and Informalization of Global Labour Markets

This chapter attempts to examine how global restructuring has impacted labour markets in the North and the South. The point of departure is that although the discourse on globalization has enshrined workfare as a new socio-economic objective for capitalist societies, the results of this strategy have left much to be desired. In fact, globalization has had a huge impact on the increase of unemployment and the de-regulation of labour markets, which is interpreted as a move towards varieties of flexibility with a concomitant removal of worker protection, lowering of social protection and weakening of labour unions. Sociologically speaking this implies a loss of social cohesion and individualization of human security and a collapse of stable social structures and traditional institutions in both North and South.

The Asia-Pacific Strategic Triangle: Unentangling the India, China, US Relations on Conflict and Security in South Asia

The objective of this paper is to give insight into the debate over the strategic triangle and how it impacts conflict and security in South Asia. First the new geopolitical motives of the United States in the Asia-Pacific are outlined. Then the concept of strategic triangle is elaborated and its applicability discussed; third, details about China and India’s relations and responses to the new US policy are being analyzed; the perspective turns to the implications for conflict and security in South Asia with a focus on Afghanistan and Iran where oil and energy security are the main denominators of foreign policy calculations and moves in the strategic triangle; and finally, some concluding remarks are offered to explain the recent shifts in interactions between these core players in the emerging world order and whether a new geopolitical architecture is emerging.

Neoliberal Globalization, Social Welfare and Trade Unions in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s political elite has deliberately encouraged economic growth by emphasizing international competition through a calculated export-led strategy and avoidance of social welfare programmes. The strategy is essentially based on an anti-entitlement attitude which has laid the groundwork for a stable societal order based on pragmatic political ideology and a specific set of social values. Policymaking in this regard has promoted a political culture which claims that public welfare reduces productivity. Despite decades of high economic growth rates, little emphasis has been devoted to education and health. Social welfare expenditures are primarily located in the private domain and concentrated on public employees. The explicit purpose of this course is to avoid wage increases and in general neutralize labour and oppositional policy groupings. This particular strategy has been implemented either through co-opting, repressing or linking economic growth and increases in employment opportunities with control by the government. Nevertheless, these societies experience pressures from the workforce on the state to adopt and implement social security related legislation and policies.

India’s Rise, the European Union and the BRICS: An Uneasy Relation

The aim of this contribution is to provide an assessment of the current diplomatic and strategic relations between India and the EU. It shows that there are fundamental deficits on both sides—most of them domestic—that impede their explicit or implicit foreign policy, security and global projections as well as their abilities to work together effectively. The first section gives a brief introduction to the present international crisis and discusses India’s endeavor to become a Great power. The second provides the theoretical and conceptual tools for the analytical framework and its implications for the study of India’s foreign policy. Third, the paper explores the institutional base of recent shifts in India’s foreign policy. Fourth, the focus shifts to the geo-political and security relationship between India and the EU and asks why no real engagement is taking place. Fifth, it provides an understanding of the strategic partnership and discusses whether a rising India needs a Europe in decline. Sixth, it offers some tentative remarks on the recent shifts in interactions between the core players and the BRICS in the emerging world order and how these changes impact the India-EU relation. Finally, some concluding remarks are offered.

Introduction to Part IV

Many speakers at the plenary session have mentioned the arms race and military expenditures as major factors for an understanding of the current situation of the world economy unfortunately too often ignored by professional economists.

Social Welfare and Harmony in East Asia and the Nordic Region

According to the discourse of elites in East and Southeast Asia, public social policies are supposed to be supportive of a small public sector, free trade and the allocation of growth in the marketplace. This approach relies on a Weberian-type explanation emphasizing values such as hard work, discipline, private enterprise, family, thrift, responsibility and respect for authority. It is furthermore based on a deliberate strategy of not emphasizing any measures of a social welfare state or publicly sanctioned entitlements, as this is supposed to decrease competitiveness in global markets. This approach has recently been challenged by pressures from labor and other societal actors, which in tandem with increased democratization are pressuring the political agenda regarding provisions of welfare and social security. Old-style paternalism and the policy of growth at any cost are being questioned. It seems that one important outcome may create greater demands for public provision of social welfare as a more articulated political expression. An important prospect might be a “soft” restructuring of the present custodian developmental state towards a more redistributive public sector, with characteristics of a social welfare state.

The internal and external constraints on foreign policy in India: exploring culture and ethnic sensitivities

Abstract The main argument of this contribution is that the distinction between internal and external is at best blurred and in reality does not make much sense in the case of India’s foreign policy. It may start and end at the border and be determined by negotiations, diplomacy or brute force but there is no conclusive evidence in the literature to decide what determines what. There are important dynamics and interplays across the thin line between the domestic and international spheres, especially in terms of understanding the reciprocal challenges related to how factors of culture and ethnicity relate with the legitimacy of the state. The aim of the paper is to serve four purposes. To unpack and give a critical overview of the debates concerned with the internal and external aspects of India’s foreign policy; to situate the literature dealing more specifically with domestic issues related to culture and ethnicity and outline the main approaches involved; to give an overview of how external factors impact foreign policy conduct and relate to India’s role in defining international norms and regulations; and, finally, to give some theoretical markers, suggestions and concluding remarks.