In order to understand the effects of neoliberal globalization on trade unions in India, this paper investigates what have been the changes in trade union participation in modern Indian industrial...Show moreIn order to understand the effects of neoliberal globalization on trade unions in India, this paper investigates what have been the changes in trade union participation in modern Indian industrial relations. This paper uses data from the time period between 1993 and 2013 and utilizes three main variables; trade union membership, trade union density, and union wage changes in order to measure trade unions’ ability to engage and conduct their prime directive in industrial relations. This thesis finds that trade union participation has increased due to higher trade union membership, union density, and union wages while having mobilized in response to neoliberalism. Although the increase in union wages relative to non-union ones is subject to debate, a potential reason for explaining both sides is the abandonment or persistence of political incorporation and patronage of unions.Show less
Lebanon’s 17 October Uprising marked a watershed moment in the country’s history as it challenged the very foundation of the political system: sectarian power-sharing. It was the largest and most...Show moreLebanon’s 17 October Uprising marked a watershed moment in the country’s history as it challenged the very foundation of the political system: sectarian power-sharing. It was the largest and most diverse protest movement in decades and its anti-sectarian stature was entirely unprecedented. For the first time, many Lebanese called on their confessional leaders to resign. This thesis examines firstly why the uprising directed its focus toward political sectarianism as a primary cause of Lebanon’s political and economic plight. The inability or unwillingness of sectarian leaders to deliver basic services to their constituents created a situation in which Lebanese across all sects were more united than ever before in their collective plight. Second, it explores the timing of the uprising in the fall of 2019. It argues that the uprising was the culmination of simmering resentments that finally erupted as a result of deteriorating economic conditions, political corruption, and a series of disasters that the government failed to prevent or address. Lastly, the thesis investigates how the uprising helped propel anti-sectarian ideas that were previously taboo into mainstream political discourse. While the 17 October Uprising ultimately failed to achieve its objective of establishing a secular rather than sectarian political order, it stands as the most significant challenge to political sectarianism in the country’s history and could pave the way for future mobilizations in the same vein. This thesis will contribute to the nascent body of literature on the 17 October Uprising and the broader scholarship on sectarian power-sharing as a system of governance.Show less
This thesis explores the lobbying strategies used by multinational agribusinesses to shape the global food security regime as part of global capitalism management. My case study focuses on how the...Show moreThis thesis explores the lobbying strategies used by multinational agribusinesses to shape the global food security regime as part of global capitalism management. My case study focuses on how the four largest grain traders in the world lobby the Food and Agriculture Organization to promote market-based policies for global food security. I find substantial evidence for four strategies: multi-stakeholder fora, corporate-FAO partnerships, lobbying national governments, and revolving door practices. The four strategies help agribusinesses be involved in decision-making, increase their market and structural power, and promote the private sector as a legitimate and essential actor in the regime’s governance. The findings fit within a neo-Gramscian framework and can be interpreted as strategies used by the transnational capitalist class to support the transnationalization of social relations of production and the promotion of the neoliberal world order.Show less
Ten years have passed since Japan’s triple disaster on March 11, 2011. The earthquake that occurred off the coast of eastern Japan triggered a powerful tsunami that in turn caused a nuclear...Show moreTen years have passed since Japan’s triple disaster on March 11, 2011. The earthquake that occurred off the coast of eastern Japan triggered a powerful tsunami that in turn caused a nuclear meltdown. As with the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe in 1995, most of the victims were elderly people. This paper articulates the causes of Japan’s elderly population’s vulnerability to (natural) hazards by examining to what extent neoliberalism aggravates the Japanese elderly’s disaster vulnerability by using the Disaster as a Social Vulnerability framework. The prevailing consensus in studies that utilize this approach is that neoliberalism and the most common developments associated with the neoliberal ideology, privatization, and decentralization4, harm people’s vulnerability. This paper shows that while processes associated with neoliberalism can exacerbate the Japanese elderly’s disaster vulnerability, as will be demonstrated by discussing the pension system, there is no evidence for the accuracy of this consensus regarding the healthcare system. Based on these insights, this paper concludes that the “neoliberalism aggravates disaster vulnerability”-consensus is too simplistic to consider the elderly population in Japan.Show less
Neuroscience has since its institutionalization in the 19th century directed its scientific promise of the discovery of the relationship between the brain and mind and with it the explanation of...Show moreNeuroscience has since its institutionalization in the 19th century directed its scientific promise of the discovery of the relationship between the brain and mind and with it the explanation of mental illnesses and disorders to range of political actors. Where neuroscientists in the first decades after the Second World War failed to claim a position of scientific expertise, by the late 1980s the social and political context had changed in their favor with the rise of Neoliberal governance. During the 1990s Decade of the Brain, neuroscience’s promise of the ‘cure for mental illness’ was turned into a national project, first by the Bush administration in the United States and then followed up by nations around the globe. Neuroscientific reductionist explanations of mental illness were so successful because they aimed at and resembled neoliberal discourses on individual responsibility and the inability of governmental interference in the social environment. Where neuroscientists and governmental officials in the first years of the Decade mentioned social factors as causes for mental illness and disorders, by the beginning of the 21th century mental illness had become a ‘no-fault brain illness’, a neurobiological phenomenon without external causes and therefore also solutions. The consequences of this alliance between neuroscience and neoliberalism have been topic of many critical studies in the past decade, yet the Decade of the Brain until now have almost completely been ignored. This master thesis is the first step towards an understanding of the interplay between the local and global dimensions of this Decade and thereby also a step towards understanding the way mental health issues are seen and treated in the present. This understanding at the same time is meant to open up the possibility to imagine much needed change in the future.Show less
This paper analyzes Mexico’s food consumption patterns and social consequences conditioned by economic changes following the implementation of NAFTA. Market liberalization and foreign investment...Show moreThis paper analyzes Mexico’s food consumption patterns and social consequences conditioned by economic changes following the implementation of NAFTA. Market liberalization and foreign investment have proven to negatively impact public health in Mexico which experiences a steep increase of obesity prevalence and non-communicable diseases. This paper is able to trace the complex relationship between trade, health policy and the nutrition transition.Show less
The World Bank has been increasingly involved in post-Independence Kenya’s agricultural development since the drought of 1973 and the Oil Crisis of the same year. Their stated objectives across...Show moreThe World Bank has been increasingly involved in post-Independence Kenya’s agricultural development since the drought of 1973 and the Oil Crisis of the same year. Their stated objectives across these loan agreements and Structural Adjustment Programs have been to liberalise trade and ultimately create a situation of food security in Kenya. In the years that have followed, Kenya has continued to be a major exporter of horticultural goods such as cut-flowers and black tea. Yet Kenya has not emerged as a food secure nation. In fact Kenya is now recognised as a food insecure nation. This is undeniably a highly complex issue with all manner of contributing factors, most notably the worsening climate crisis and internal displacement this has caused. However, Kenya is East Africa’s largest and arguably most stable economy with hugely profitable agricultural exports. Kenya is also a nation unlike many other African nations in that its most valuable natural resource is its soil rather than what lies beneath it. Despite this, more than a third of Kenyan children suffer from stunting meaning chronic malnutrition in pregnant women and children is widespread. This research therefore utilises a theoretical framework based on elements from the Neoliberal Theory of Development, Postcolonial Theory and World Systems Theory to analyse how the World Bank’s loan conditionalities have contributed to Kenya’s status as food insecure. With many of these loans still in the process of being repaid this research focuses on the impacts they have had thus far.Show less
This thesis explores the role of a teacher under Bolsonaro regime in Curitiba, Brazil. More specifically, it will answer the following research question: how have the oppressive structures of...Show moreThis thesis explores the role of a teacher under Bolsonaro regime in Curitiba, Brazil. More specifically, it will answer the following research question: how have the oppressive structures of neoliberalism under the Bolsonaro regime affected teachers' capabilities in Curitiba, Brazil? The disseratation explores the question through the framework of neoliberalism, the commodification of education and knowledge on the one hand and transformative education on the other. The goal is to identify and analyse the impact of Bolsonaro's neoliberal policies on teachers' experiences in the classroom and society. The research is based on six, qualitative, semi-structured interviews with six teachers in Curitiba. The analysis indicates that teachers find it increasingly difficult to realise their ideological aspirations towards transformative education within the framework of Bolsonaro's neoliberal policies. Based on the data, the Bolsonaro regime's neoliberal educational policies that have led further commodification of education and knowledge which deteriorate teachers' professional status, working conditions, support and pedagogical liberty. Through critical premises, this research engages in the ongoing political debate on the commodification of education.Show less
This thesis seeks to investigate the possible connection between the precarious socioeconomic situation that dominates the lives of most Chileans and the historically unprecedented magnitude of...Show moreThis thesis seeks to investigate the possible connection between the precarious socioeconomic situation that dominates the lives of most Chileans and the historically unprecedented magnitude of protests that are currently shaking the country. The main research question will, therefore, take a close look at “How to understand the 2019 Chilean protests as a result of the structural inequalities produced by the radical neoliberal development strategy implemented in the 1980s? In order to make this research more tangible and feasible, the privatization of the social security (pension) system will serve as a case study to analyze the changing tolerance for inequality, as the demand for a pension system reform is one of the key drivers behind the ongoing social upheaval in Chile. The research questions will be answered by using the Hirschman “tunnel hypothesis” created in 1973 to investigate how societies in the early stages of rapid economic development have created a substantial tolerance for initial economic disparities, anticipating a future reduction of said disparities that will include everyone. Should these expectations never be met, considerable social discontent develops, that can result in disaster and turn previous supporters into enemies of the stateShow less
This thesis investigates the effects of neoliberalism on labour and the social reproduction of labour. The thesis provides a literature review of the extensive literature on neoliberalism in...Show moreThis thesis investigates the effects of neoliberalism on labour and the social reproduction of labour. The thesis provides a literature review of the extensive literature on neoliberalism in general and in Egypt before providing a historical account of neoliberal reforms and their effect on the corporatist bargain between labour and the state. It then proceeds to discuss the effects of neoliberalism on informality, welfare and repression. The thesis argues that on all these fronts workers have been increasingly marginalised and forced to live in substandard conditions. Neoliberalism has caused a spike in informal employment and informal settlements. This informality results in decreased working conditions, wages and housing conditions. Another effect of the neoliberal reforms was the reduction of state provision of welfare. This vacuum was filled by private actors, often those families and individuals who benefitted from the neoliberal reforms in the first place. Labour is now dependent on private actors to provide services, which used to be a right based on citizenship. Harvey characterises neoliberal reforms as accumulation through dispossession. Lastly, the thesis claims that resistance to this dispossession has been effectively repressed through legal obstacles, Sisi-linked media narratives securitising resistance and an increased security apparatus. Overall, workers have suffered the brunt of neoliberal reform to the benefit of a select group of elites, who now attempt to form a coalition with the security forces to maintain stability, prevent another 2011 and maintain their accumulated wealth.Show less
This thesis aims to explain why the cash reserves of Japanese firms have almost tripled in the years between 2013 and 2019, during a time where neoliberal policy reform should have encouraged...Show moreThis thesis aims to explain why the cash reserves of Japanese firms have almost tripled in the years between 2013 and 2019, during a time where neoliberal policy reform should have encouraged spending excess cash on extra investing. By combining a study of already existing literature on how these policy changes should have affected firms and a case study on how Japanese firms have actually reacted to the reforms, it becomes clear that they did not have the expected results. Investments are down and cash reserves keep going up. With the use of the theory of path dependency, this phenomenon can be explained. Traditional Japanese firms have a tendency to be more conservative and tend to be focussed on long term growth. While the business environment has significantly changed, the structure and institutions of the firms have stayed the same. Easier access to financial capital and lower interest rates have increased profits, but they have not changed the firm’s investment strategies. Instead the new earned profits have been assigned to the cash reserves for later use.Show less
This thesis explores urban dynamics in Morocco. Specifically, it examines whether the geographies of urban population displacement and poverty concentration in Casablanca have changed due to slum...Show moreThis thesis explores urban dynamics in Morocco. Specifically, it examines whether the geographies of urban population displacement and poverty concentration in Casablanca have changed due to slum eradication since the implementation of the Cities Without Slums Programme in 2004, and if so, how. Moreover, it explores the different political and socioeconomic consequences of this displacement for slum-dwellers. My contribution to the field is an exhaustive search of displacement patterns throughout the Casablanca prefecture and the creation of a dichotomy of soft vs. hard displacement, which differentiates extents of displacement in the region. The theoretical framework that guides the research is a combination of Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space and an analysis of the neoliberal forces at work. This is done through an analysis of Moroccan news media and official policy documents published by different Moroccan state departments that discuss operations of resettlement and rehousing. The research concludes that slum dwellers have indeed been displaced from different areas of Casablanca since the launch of the programme. In some cases, they have been displaced to the periphery, this is to say, to the different provinces and prefectures adjacent to Casablanca. However, in other cases, displacement has taken place within the same area. These different degrees of displacement have had ambiguous political and socioeconomic effects on the affected populations.Show less
The aim of this study is to find out how the occupation in the West Bank is maintained by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, its capitalist class and the aid agencies with its donors. Hereby, the...Show moreThe aim of this study is to find out how the occupation in the West Bank is maintained by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, its capitalist class and the aid agencies with its donors. Hereby, the focus set upon the question what the neoliberal economic policies in the West Bank are and how they play a role in the occupation of it. To answer this question, the thesis will explore the policies of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority next to the policies that are promoted in the West Bank by aid agencies and international donors. Israel’s neoliberal economic policies will be explained through its economic interests in the West Bank, such as land, labour, water and market. Furthermore, the study will look into the neoliberal economic policies of the Palestinian Authority and how the Palestinian capitalist class has been created through these policies. Lastly, the study will highlight the role of international donors and aid agencies in the West Bank and the means in which they apply their influence to promote neoliberal economic policies that sustain the occupation of the West Bank. The study will show that the neoliberal economic policies in the West Bank contribute to its occupation and its dependency on the Israeli economy and international aid. However, not only Israel profits from the occupation, but also the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian elite through their cooperation with Israel.Show less
In 2009, it is estimated that the Muslim population in Egypt reached 78,51 million, or 94.6% of Egyptians is Muslim (Scott & Jafari 2010, 6). Islam influence created a unique case for Egypt as...Show moreIn 2009, it is estimated that the Muslim population in Egypt reached 78,51 million, or 94.6% of Egyptians is Muslim (Scott & Jafari 2010, 6). Islam influence created a unique case for Egypt as a developing country. From the period of the 1950s until 2000s, there have been multiple attempts to apply different economic reforms in Egypt. However, the reforms also affected the concept of Islamic revival in the context of setting the guidelines to practice business. This thesis focuses on the implication of neoliberalism concept, especially in terms of wealth accumulation from the year 1970s. Arguably, neoliberalism also shaped the Islamic practice into the notion of ‘pious neoliberalism’ in Egypt. The phenomenon of ‘pious neoliberalism’ will be analyzed through the emergence of the Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) and the halal food industry in Egypt and the practicality of it. The research concludes that there is a new phenomenon of Islamization that is distinct from the predecessors by embracing the idea of neoliberalism and capitalism. The research, thus, explores how this new phenomenon of Islamization, shaped by pious neoliberalism, is distinct from the predecessors by embracing the idea of neoliberalism and capitalism.Show less
There is an abundance of quantitative research on the policy and sociological results of the 1996 welfare reforms, but less is known on the ideological background that inspired these reforms. This...Show moreThere is an abundance of quantitative research on the policy and sociological results of the 1996 welfare reforms, but less is known on the ideological background that inspired these reforms. This thesis researches to what extent neoliberal ideology influenced changes to social welfare programs (AFDC) in the United States between 1992 and 1996. It is suggested that the change from AFDC to TANF happened in 1996 due to a combination of a sharp increase in welfare rolls and increasing poverty levels occurring consecutively, changing ideological motivations toward social welfare, and welfare experiments conducted under H.W. Bush proving successful. In 1992, Clinton promised to replace welfare with a comprehensive suite of programs to facilitate leaving welfare, but passed welfare reform in 1996 without generous provisions due to a belief in the independent functioning of the core provisions of the TANF law. TANF was different, because it introduced; flexibility in policy making, by devolving authority to states through block grants, negative incentives to leave welfare, through time limits on lifetime benefits and work requirements and increased accountability, by making states responsible for maintaining work participation rates. It is suggested that most major TANF provisions were consistent with a belief in market-efficiency, market-morality and monetarism and could therefore be linked to neoliberal ideology both by their execution and by the discourse surrounding their implementation.Show less
