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Interiors of Inequality: Ethnographic Exploration of Social Housing in Serbia

November 12, 2024
By 28933

Residents of Serbia’s social housing estates navigate a landscape marked by overcrowding, institutional abandonment, and a persistent threat of eviction. Fieldwork conducted using an SRG award by Sara Nikolić (University of Belgrade, 2020–21) reveals that contrary to stereotypes that label them as lazy or deceitful, these individuals are actively engaged in homemaking and yearn for improved conditions.

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The narratives of abandonment and neglect articulated by the residents of social housing estates in Serbia come as no surprise when thinking of the welfare system in the country. In public discourse and the media, people dependent on welfare, especially those in Roma communities, tend to be portrayed as lazy, incompetent, fickle, and intrinsically prone to crime.

With the aim of countering such racist narratives, I have been conducting research into the nexus between social housing tenants and their living environments. Specifically, my research probes the concept of homemaking and its boundaries within the challenging context of poverty and extreme housing precarity.

Overturning Popular Stereotypes

What I gathered from social housing estate residents during my fieldwork challenged the popular notion of tenants as criminals who deceive and exploit the state and taxpayers and who base their claims on exaggerated or false claims. They frequently lamented what they legitimately perceived as an inadequate state presence, expressing the need for the state to provide more services and resources to the local community and their estate.

Moreover, the residents’ use of terms like “care” and “interest” suggested a deeper, more personal connection to their neighborhoods, implying that the estate was situated within the moral framework of the local community (Kocsh 2014).

The socialist system in Yugoslavia, which considered housing as social infrastructure, provided a relatively easy path to securing a roof over one’s head. This system was suspended in 1990, however, when constitutional changes abolished the obligation of employees to set aside a contribution for housing construction from their salaries.

This was followed by the “big bang” privatization of apartments. In just under five years, the housing market was completely transformed, with 98% of publicly owned apartments passing into the hands of private owners (Damjanović 2010). This speedy shift toward neoliberal housing policies also resulted in a steady withdrawal of state resources and services from social housing estates.

The estates where I conducted my fieldwork—a small community of twenty, mainly Roma households displaced from Kosovo and a large neighborhood of nearly a thousand households of economically and socially disadvantaged families, again mostly of Roma origin—are exemplary in this respect. Situated, respectively, in the outlying areas of a middle-sized town and the capital city, they were built in the 2000s to offer housing for seriously disadvantaged communities.

For over 10 years now, about half of the residents of both estates have been without electricity, and a large number of households are at constant risk of forced eviction. In addition to problems of unemployment, welfare dependence, and health problems related to poor housing conditions, these tenants must deal with a vast and inflexible bureaucratic machinery when reporting problems with their homes or the rental system.

In the following, I describe the findings of an ethnographic inquiry into the homemaking practices of these estates, conducted with the help of an SRG award.

In-Depth Interviews with Residents

This research project adopted the concept of unhomeliness to describe the state’s lack of care, as manifested directly and collectively within social housing estates (Miller 1988; 2001; Navaro-Yashin 2012).

Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted from May to September 2024, with data collection carried out by myself and two PhD students, Dušanka Milosavljević and Igor Išpanović. Since the research involved working with people, particularly marginalized communities, all activities were conducted in strict adherence to the Code of Ethics of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade.

Alongside records of interviews and home visits, the data collected included observations, sketches, photographs, and diary entries made during and immediately after visits to the settlements. A total of 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, each lasting approximately one hour, were conducted in the homes of social housing estate residents. The respondents, aged between 18 and 65, were primarily of Roma origin, with a few of Serbian and Wallachian descent. Recruitment followed a snowball sampling method, with local gatekeepers playing a key role in fostering trust and facilitating connections within the communities.

Of the 20 participants, 5 were men and 15 were women. This gender disparity is largely due to the timing of the field visits, which took place during the day when women and children were more likely to be at home, while men were often occupied with informal and precarious work, such as collecting secondary raw materials or working in construction.

All respondents provided informed consent for both audio recordings of the interviews and visual documentation of their living conditions, including sketches and photographs of their apartments. Consent covered the use of these materials for research and promotional purposes. In cases where respondents were not functionally literate, the researchers read the consent form aloud, and verbal consent was obtained.

Overcrowded Housing and Lack of Privacy

I’d rather live in a desert—at least there, no one is around.
—Man, Uzun Mirkova estate, Požarevac

The notion of what defines comfortable living differs widely. For many of my informants, who have experienced homelessness, the hardships of war, and inadequate collective emergency housing, conversations about housing often touched on issues like overcrowding, the need to share resources among family members, and distinctions between those who had benefited from welfare policies and those who had not.

Home comfort has both social and material dimensions (Johnson 2018). Socially, it involves expectations regarding living standards, as well as the economic, legal, family, and civic relationships that help maintain the resources needed to meet those expectations. On the material side, it includes the infrastructure—pipes, wiring, and other systems—that ensure the home remains warm, well-lit, and healthy. The apartments I visited during this research failed to meet such “comfort criteria.”

A family home in Uzun Mirkova estate, Požarevac, Serbia. May 2024. Photo by Sara Nikolić.

However, the greatest source of discomfort stemmed not from inadequate and health-threatening housing conditions but from the lack of privacy. When asked what they would prioritize if financial constraints were lifted, many respondents expressed a desire to “move out of here and have our own yard.” Such responses suggest a yearning for private space, rather than a fetishization of private property.

After fleeing Kosovo after the war, the residents of Uzun Mirkova lived in emergency shelters for the first 11 years. They then gained access to social housing, but they were assigned homes that lacked essential amenities and were overcrowded, with living space of only 35 to 50 square meters for each household averaging seven members.

The constant presence of other people has not engendered a sense of community. Extreme poverty has hindered the fulfillment of basic needs, resulting in a situation where individuals, particularly women, spend time together out of necessity rather than genuine social connection. Men, on the other hand, sought employment outside the estates, creating further separation. For those who have access to electricity, the preference is often to isolate themselves with the television set, disconnecting from the chaos that envelops them.

Threat of Eviction Induces “Anticipatory Uncanniness” 

No one comes to visit us. They come to evict us, to give us eviction notices, to mistreat and threaten us. . . . We have no rights here, as if we’re not Serbian citizens.
—Woman, Kamendin estate, Belgrade

Housing conditions were a source of frustration and complaint for everyone. Apartments were chronically overcrowded, electricity was cut over a decade ago, mold was difficult to eliminate due to widespread dampness, and the flats remained cold during winter. Despite these issues, the competent institutions appeared reluctant to invest in repairs or maintenance, let alone in constructing new homes. Moreover, they blamed the tenants themselves for the poor living conditions. In the Belgrade neighborhood of Kamendin, a campaign against “ungrateful” residents resulted in massive eviction orders.

In the Kamendin estate, gas is used for cooking, heating, and for threatening police and enforcement officers during forced eviction attempts. June 2024. Photo by Sara Nikolić.

In contrast to common eviction narratives (e.g., Desmond 2017; Sullivan 2017), the presence of legal coercion did not lead solely to feelings of worry or despair (though such emotions were expressed as well). My research revealed that, in addition to evoking fear, anxiety, tension, depression, shame, and grief (Dudley 2000; Han 2011), the threat of eviction also generated hope and a feeling of homeliness.

More precisely, the tenants I encountered responded to the potential coercion in varying ways, ranging from anger toward racialized welfare policies and optimism over the prospect of “moving out of here” to fear of facing the grim potential of once again losing their home. This anticipatory uncanniness (Davey 2019) demonstrates how the state, through its recourse to legitimate coercion and institutional racism, subtly influences the aspirations tenants develop in relation to their homes.

Conclusion

This ethnographic exploration of social housing conditions in Serbia sheds light on the complex and often overlooked experiences of residents, particularly those living in extreme housing precarity. The narratives gathered during my fieldwork challenge the stigmatizing portrayals of social housing beneficiaries as exploiters of welfare systems, revealing instead a population that deeply yearns for stability, care, and improved living conditions. Contrary to public perceptions, these individuals are not passive recipients of state aid but are actively engaged in homemaking under conditions of chronic neglect, overcrowding, and institutional abandonment.

The research also highlights the ways in which legal coercion and the ever-present threat of eviction shape the emotional landscape of social housing residents. The anticipatory uncanniness experienced by many residents underscores how the state’s subtle and overt forms of control impact not only their current living conditions but also their visions for the future.

In sum, this study offers a critical understanding of the relationship between the state, social housing, and its marginalized residents. It calls attention to the urgent need for rethinking housing policies in Serbia, where systemic neglect, bureaucratic hurdles, and inadequate resources continue to undermine the dignity and well-being of those most in need of secure and humane living environments. By focusing on the everyday struggles and aspirations of these communities, this research contributes to broader anthropological discussions on housing precarity, social justice, and the role of the state in shaping lives at the margins.

 

References

Damjanović, D. (2010). Socijalno stanovanje: Prikaz stambenih politika Srbije i odabranih zemalja Evrope. Beograd: Palgo centar. 

Davey, R. (2020). Snakes and ladders: Legal coercion, housing precarity, and home-making aspirations in southern England. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 26(1), 12–29. 

Desmond, M. (2017). Evicted: Poverty and profit in the American city. London: Penguin. 

Dudley, K. M. (2000). Debt and dispossession: Farm loss in America’s heartland. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

Han, C. (2011). Symptoms of another life: Time, possibility, and domestic relations in Chile’s credit economy. Cultural Anthropology, 26(1), 7–32. 

Johnson, C. (2018). The moral economy of comfortable living: Negotiating individualism and collectivism through housing in Belgrade. Critique of Anthropology, 38(2), 156–171. 

Koch, I. (2014). Everyday experiences of state betrayal on an English council estate. Anthropology of This Century, 9.

Miller, D. (1988). Appropriating the state on the council estate. Man, 23(2), 353–372. 

Miller, D. (2001). Possessions. In D. Miller (ed.), Home possessions: Material culture behind closed doors, pp. 107–122. Oxford: Berg. 

Navaro-Yashin, Y. (2012). The make-believe space: Affective geography in a postwar polity. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. 

Sullivan, E. (2017). Displaced in place: Manufactured housing, mass eviction, and the paradox of state intervention. American Sociological Review, 82(2), 243–269. 

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Harmony in Diversity: Multicultural Education at China’s Universities for Ethnic Minorities

September 12, 2024
By 30637

Multicultural education that seeks to balance diversity and unity has become vital for many countries in the era of globalization. The “color-blind” approach that promotes equality regardless of race or ethnicity often overlooks systemic disparities, however. Dak Lhagyal (Columbia University, 2020, 2021) used an SRG award to explore the implementation and impact of multicultural education at minzu universities for ethnic minorities in China, offering insights into their unique role within a complex national identity framework.

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In an increasingly globalized world, the concept of multicultural education has become paramount in fostering inclusive societies that celebrate diversity while promoting unity (Ramirez et al. 2009). The “color-blind” approach (Bonilla-Silva 2014), which aims to treat individuals equally regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds, presents itself as a universal solution in educational systems worldwide. However, this approach often overlooks the complex realities of racial and ethnic disparities, raising questions about its effectiveness in addressing the deep-rooted issues of inequality and discrimination in multicultural settings (Bonilla-Silva 2014).

My research delves into the implementation and implications of multicultural education at minzu universities in China’s higher education system. These institutions, dedicated to the education of ethnic minority students, provide a unique context to examine the dynamics of multicultural education in a country that officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups (Clothey 2005; Zenz 2013). Employing qualitative research methods, including ethnographic interviews and participant observations, I conducted research at a prominent minzu university in western China. This site was chosen for its diverse student body and its role in the national strategy to promote ethnic unity and cultural diversity.

The choice of my topic stems from a growing interest in understanding how state-led multicultural policies impact interethnic relations and identity formation within educational settings (Leibold 2019). By examining the nuanced experiences of students and faculty within minzu universities, my study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on multicultural education and its capacity to address or perpetuate ethnic inequalities (Leibold & Chen 2014). The findings offer insights into the complex interplay between policy, identity, and educational practice (Yang 2017; Grose 2019; Robin 2014), shedding light on the broader societal implications of diversity education in a context as diverse as China’s. Through this analysis, I seek to enhance understanding of the potential and limitations of multicultural education in fostering truly inclusive and equitable educational environments (Lhagyal 2021).

Dual Role of Minzu Universities in Ethnic Identity Formation

Minzu universities in China hold a distinctive position within the country’s educational landscape, serving a dual purpose in the formation of ethnic identity among minority students (Clothey 2005). These institutions, designed to cater specifically to the educational needs of China’s ethnic minorities, offer a unique blend of cultural preservation and integration into the broader Chinese national identity (Zenz 2013; Yang 2017). At the heart of the minzu university experience is the endeavor to maintain the linguistic and cultural heritage of ethnic minority students while also integrating them into the Han-dominated national narrative (Clothey 2005). These institutions provide programs in both ethnic minority languages and Mandarin, reflecting a commitment to bilingual education (Zenz 2013; Robin 2014). This approach aims to equip students with the tools needed to navigate the broader Chinese society while retaining a connection to their ethnic roots (Yang 2017).

Research conducted at these universities reveals a nuanced impact on student identity. For Tibetan students, for instance, the environment fosters a heightened awareness of their ethnic heritage and encourages the formation of a modern Tibetan identity that coexists with the national identity promoted by Beijing. This dual identity formation process highlights the universities’ role in creating a space where ethnic minority students can explore and redefine their cultural identities within the context of a dominant national culture.

A curator explains the traditional Tibetan thangka painting to a group of student visitors at a minzu university museum in April 2023.

However, the experiences of students at minzu universities are not without challenges. The push and pull between ethnic and national identities can lead to a complex negotiation of identity for students, who must navigate the expectations and norms of both their ethnic community and the broader Chinese society. By offering an education that straddles ethnic heritage and national integration, minzu universities facilitate a form of identity formation that reflects the complexities of modern Chinese society.

State-Led Multiculturalism and Interethnic Relations

China’s approach to multiculturalism, particularly through its education system, offers a distinctive perspective on managing interethnic relations. Within this framework, minzu universities emerge as pivotal institutions where the nation’s aspirations towards unity in diversity are enacted. These institutions embody state-led efforts to foster multicultural education, aiming to enhance mutual understanding and respect among China’s numerous ethnic groups. My research delves into the effects of such policies on interethnic relations, shedding light on the nuanced outcomes of these endeavors.

State-led multiculturalism in China is characterized by the promotion of ethnic diversity alongside the reinforcement of a unified national identity. Minzu universities play a critical role in this strategy, providing a platform for students from diverse ethnic backgrounds to engage with each other and the nation’s dominant Han culture. The presence of programs that celebrate ethnic minority languages and cultures within these universities illustrates the state’s commitment to diversity. However, the overarching goal remains the cultivation of a cohesive national identity among all students.

Tibetan students dressed in traditional attire during a university-sponsored campus activity at a minzu university in May 2023.

The impact of this approach on interethnic relations is multifaceted. On one hand, it facilitates encounters and exchanges among students of different ethnic backgrounds, potentially laying the groundwork for increased understanding and solidarity. Students are exposed to a variety of cultural perspectives, which can enrich their personal and intellectual development. On the other hand, the emphasis on a unified national identity might overshadow the distinctiveness of minority cultures, complicating the process of identity formation for minority students.

These dynamics underscore the complexity of implementing state-led multiculturalism in a society as diverse as China’s. While aiming to harmonize interethnic relations, the challenge lies in balancing the celebration of ethnic diversity with the promotion of national unity. Through the lens of minzu universities, we gain insight into both the achievements and challenges of this endeavor, highlighting the ongoing negotiation of identity and belonging in China’s multicultural landscape.

Institutional and Structural Challenges in Ethnic Inequality

In the diverse landscape of China’s higher education, minzu universities represent a critical effort to integrate ethnic minority students into the national fabric while respecting their unique cultural identities. However, these institutions face the monumental task of addressing and overcoming ethnic inequalities within an educational and societal context.

At the core of minzu universities’ mission is the goal of fostering an environment where students from all ethnic backgrounds can thrive academically and socially. These universities are designed to be inclusive spaces that not only educate but also promote understanding and respect for cultural diversity. They offer programs in minority languages and culture, aiming to elevate the status of ethnic minorities within the broader society.

Despite these commendable efforts, challenges persist in fully addressing the deep-rooted inequalities that affect ethnic minority students. One of the primary obstacles is the delicate balance between celebrating diversity and ensuring equal opportunities for all students. While the curriculum and extracurricular activities at minzu universities strive to highlight ethnic traditions and languages, ensuring that diversity does not translate into disadvantage remains a constant challenge.

Moreover, the structural limitations within the educational and societal system can sometimes hinder the full realization of these goals. For example, the transition from education to employment remains a significant hurdle for many ethnic minority graduates, reflecting broader societal patterns of inequality.

Understanding the institutional and structural challenges faced by minzu universities in addressing ethnic inequalities is crucial. These institutions stand at the intersection of cultural preservation and societal integration, embodying the complexities of navigating ethnic diversity within a rapidly modernizing nation. Examining their efforts offers insights into both the progress made and the hurdles that remain, highlighting the nuanced journey toward achieving equality and inclusion for all ethnic groups in China.

Toward a More Inclusive Multicultural Education

China’s innovative approach to multiculturalism within its higher education system, particularly through the minzu universities, represents a significant endeavor to integrate ethnic diversity with national unity. These institutions serve as a focal point for exploring the intricate balance between celebrating ethnic identities and fostering a cohesive Chinese national identity. They not only provide education in minority languages and cultures but also serve as a microcosm for understanding broader societal dynamics. The dual identity formation process they facilitate highlights the potential for creating a more inclusive national identity that acknowledges and respects ethnic diversity.

The state-led approach to multiculturalism has had a nuanced impact on interethnic relations. While it promotes interactions among diverse student bodies, fostering understanding and solidarity, it also faces the challenge of ensuring that the richness of minority cultures is not overshadowed by the overarching narrative of national unity. The experiences of students within these universities underscore the delicate balance between celebrating diversity and achieving cohesion.

Institutional and structural challenges persist in fully addressing ethnic inequalities within the education system. Despite efforts to promote equality and inclusion, disparities in educational outcomes and experiences among ethnic groups indicate areas for further reflection and improvement.

China’s minzu universities embody the country’s commitment to navigating the complexities of multicultural education. Their role in shaping the future of ethnic relations and national identity in China is both critical and evolving. As these institutions continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the country’s diversity, they serve as a valuable case study for understanding the broader implications of multiculturalism in education. I hope my research will provide a foundation for further analysis and deeper understanding of the dynamics at play in one of the world’s most populous and culturally diverse countries.

References

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2014. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, 4th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Clothey, Rebecca. 2005. “China’s Policies for Minority Nationalities in Higher Education: Negotiating National Values and Ethnic Identities.” Comparative Education Review, 49(3), pp. 389–409.

Grose, Timothy. 2019. Negotiating Inseparability in China: The Xinjiang Class and the Dynamics of Uyghur Identity. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Leibold, James. 2019. “Planting the Seed: Ethnic Policy in Xi Jinping’s New Era of Cultural Nationalism.” China Brief, 19(22), pp. 9–14.

Leibold, James, and Yangbin Chen, eds. 2014. Minority Education in China: Balancing Unity and Diversity in an Era of Critical Pluralism. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Lhagyal, Dak. 2021. “‘Linguistic Authority’ in State-Society Interaction: Cultural Politics of Tibetan Education in China.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 42(3), pp. 353–367.

Ramirez, Francisco O., Patricia Bromley, and Susan Garnett Russell. 2009. “The Valorization of Humanity and Diversity.” Multicultural Education Review, 1(1), pp. 29–54.

Robin, Françoise. 2014. “Streets, Slogans and Screens: New Paradigms for the Defence of the Tibetan.” In Trine Brox and Ildikó Bellér-Hann, eds., On the Fringes of the Harmonious Society: Tibetans and Uyghurs in Socialist China. Copenhagen: Nias Press, pp. 209–235.

Yang, Miaoyan. 2017. Learning to Be Tibetan: The Construction of Ethnic Identity at Minzu University of China. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Zenz, Adrian. 2013. “Tibetanness” Under Threat?: Neo-Integrationism, Minority Education and Career Strategies in Qinghai, PR China. Leiden: Brill.

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A Youth-Driven Pact to Promote Ethics in Costa Rican Politics

August 28, 2024
By 31231

In November 2023, Mauricio Artiñano (Princeton University, 2013) organized a transformative retreat for youth leaders from 37 Costa Rican political parties that led to the drafting of a groundbreaking Interparty Ethical Pact addressing campaign issues like hate speech and corruption. Culminating in a historic signing event by parties from across the political spectrum, the SLI-supported, media-acclaimed project produced a commitment to democratic integrity for the February 2024 municipal elections and beyond.

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Imagine sending almost 60 representatives of different political parties to a rural community for a weekend to live together and work to draft a pact of ethical principles for a campaign period. It sounds like an idea for a reality show, one that would likely end in fighting or scandal. Few people would guess that a social experiment of this nature would result in new friendships and a consensus agreement.

In November 2023, though, thanks to a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) grant, I worked with the civic association Costa Rica Íntegra—the Costa Rican chapter of Transparency International—to facilitate a retreat for 59 young men and women representing 37 local and national political parties from across the country’s ideological spectrum.

Many people we consulted about this project were skeptical about our chances of success. However, thanks to a unique, self-designed methodology, the support of an excellent facilitation team, and, most importantly, the hard work of the youth leaders, the group was able to draft a 25-point pact that they named Interparty Ethical Pact “Sitio Mata” in honor of the community where we held the retreat. The Pact includes commitments related to such controversial issues as hate speech, disinformation, corruption, attacks against democratic institutions, campaign finance, and the environmental impact of political campaigns.

Youth leaders (and the author, shown standing in the top photo) discussing and drafting the ethical pact.

An Environment Conducive to Building Rapport

According to the youth leaders, another factor that helped set the stage for a successful conclusion was the place we chose to hold the retreat. Most events of this nature are held in hotels or retreat centers, but our meeting was held at a rural community center, and the youth leaders and staff stayed with local families that run a rural community tourism project in the village of Sitio Mata, some 50 km east of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. With this choice, we were able to support a thriving, women-led tourism venture and the local economy, while also giving the young leaders the opportunity to get to know the local community. The participants agreed that the hospitality and warmth of their adopted families helped promote a sense of community that fed into the negotiations for the Pact.

With the momentum generated by the retreat and the Sylff grant, we were able to obtain additional financial support from the Swiss Embassy in Costa Rica, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA International), the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Indefinido Design Studio, and the European Union Delegation to Costa Rica. These funds allowed us to work with the youth leaders to organize 11 different events to promote the Pact and give political parties and candidates the opportunity to sign it. We were also fortunate to have the support of four University of Costa Rica political science students, who chose this project as their professional practice (a graduation requirement).

The largest of the 11 signing events took place a few weeks after the retreat, at the University of Costa Rica’s main campus. Forty-two political parties signed the Pact at that event, which was also attended by representatives from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, organized labor, the business community, and academia.

In addition, we were honored by the presence of the ambassadors of Switzerland, Perú, the Netherlands, Canada, Chile, and the European Union, and a representative from the Embassy of Japan (who also happened to be a Sylff fellow!). It was especially noteworthy that we had representatives from nearly all the national political parties sitting side by side at the same table signing the Pact. Various observers remarked that they couldn’t remember the last time so many political parties signed the same document.

Representatives of political parties signing the Pact at the University of Costa Rica event.

The initiative also received widespread media coverage, including TV and radio interviews and even a mention on the front page of La Nación, Costa Rica’s largest newspaper. The press coverage was also a great opportunity for the youth leaders to engage with the press and learn skills related to public relations, interviewing, and dealing with the media.

In total, 53 political parties signed the Pact out of the 75 that presented candidates for the February 4, 2024, municipal elections in Costa Rica, representing 86% of all candidates. With the support of Indefinido Design Studio, we were able set up an online platform for individual candidates to sign the Pact. Only 467 out of more than 37,000 candidates signed it individually, however, prompting the youth leaders to note—during a lessons-learned retreat held two months after the elections—that the online platform may have been set up too late and that many candidates believed that there was no need for them to sign the Pact individually if their party had already signed it. This was an important lesson for possible future iterations of this initiative.

At the follow-up retreat, the youth leaders expressed their deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this initiative and for the skills, connections, and inspiration that they derived from the project. They were especially enthusiastic about continuing to work together as a network of youth leaders committed to democracy and electoral ethics and integrity. Together with some of the funders of the initiative, we are currently brainstorming ways of continuing to support the youth leaders and maintain momentum. We are also looking forward to leading a similar exercise for the 2026 presidential and legislative elections.

Youth leaders who participated in the retreat.

My two main objectives with this project were to foster ethical principles in the context of the Costa Rican municipal elections and to promote the leadership and initiative of the next generation of leaders in the country. In her speech announcing the preliminary results of the elections, the presiding magistrate of the Costa Rican Supreme Electoral Tribunal—the institution in charge of organizing and supervising Costa Rican elections—mentioned the Pact as a successful civil-society-led initiative to promote democratic values. I was very proud of that recognition and very proud of the results of this initiative, particularly of the network of youth leaders that was created. I also had an opportunity to give a TED talk in April about this experience. All this was possible thanks to Sylff, and I am deeply grateful for its support.

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Women’s Empowerment in Japan: From Tokenism to Critical Mass?

April 19, 2024
By 21688

A decade ago, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a policy aimed at promoting more women to leadership positions in Japan—a country that has long ranked near the bottom in the Global Gender Gap Index. The pace of progress since then, though, has been embarrassingly slow. Thanh Nguyen (Waseda University, 2014) used an SRG award to analyze corporate data over the past decade to identify where improvements have been made and what more needs to be done to enhance women’s boardroom presence.[1]

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In spring 2014, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a speech on “A New Vision from a New Japan” at the World Economic Forum, stating, “Japan must become a place where women shine. By 2020 we will make 30% of leading positions to be occupied by women.” This led to an increase in the number of female board directors, but Japan still failed to achieve the 30% target by 2020 and had to push back the target date by up to a decade.[2] The situation today is still not promising, as the Global Gender Gap Index in 2023 ranked Japan 125th out of 146 countries; the country has remained near the bottom of the list over the last 10 years. Will Japan be able to reach the 30% milestone by the revised deadline of 2030?

In my research, I gathered updated data about female leadership in Japan from 2012 to 2023. I first measured the impact of recent changes in Japanese policy and law aimed at promoting the appointment of women to management and leadership positions, focusing on Abe’s “Womenomics” policy launched in 2013 and the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace implemented in April 2016. I examined whether firms appointed more female directors during the policy period compared with earlier periods.

Second, I examined the critical mass of female directors and the firms that succeeded in increasing the number of female directors to this level. Critical mass is defined as the number of female directors needed to affect policy and induce real change. I identified firms as being successful in reaching critical mass if 30% or more of their board members were women—the target figure set by the Japanese government. My main research question was whether gender policies actually helped to increase the number of female directors, especially up to critical mass.

Scrutinizing Womenomics Policies

Many countries have introduced a mandatory or voluntary quota for female leaders to address gender inequality. For example, Norway has a 40% female board membership quota, while Britain maintains a 25% female board membership target. By contrast, the Japanese government promotes female leadership not with a quota but through its Womenomics policy package that encourages large corporations to promote gender- and employment-related policies. In particular, firms have been advised to establish and disclose their action plans to improve gender equality and to disclose relevant data.

To answer my research question, I collected data on the directors at listed firms in Japan from the Yakuin Shikiho (Executive Officers Handbook), published by Toyo Keizai Inc., which includes the name, age, position, gender, place of birth, education, and previous experience of each director. My final sample consisted of an unbalanced panel of more than 40,000 firm-year observations from 2012 to 2023. I then created a group of variables representing the characteristics of the board, including “total number of board members,” “total number of female board members,” “ratio of female board members,” “chairperson gender,” and “CEO gender.”

30% Target Reached by Only Small Minority of Firms

I found that only 9% of surveyed firms had at least one female board member in 2012 but that this figure increased gradually each year, climbing to 63.4% in 2023, with 2,482 out of 3,915 listed firms having at least one female board director (Figure 1). This indicates that many more firms appointed female board directors during the years of Womenomics. The steady uptrend was unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policymakers may be happy with these changes in corporate governance and claim that the Womenomics policy package has been effective. The truth, though, may not be that rosy. When I calculated the share of female board members and grouped the firms according to this percentage, I found that the group claiming shares of 30% or higher accounted for only 0.59% of all firms in 2012 and a still very low 4.06% in 2023.

This figure has been increasing gradually each year, to be sure, but the pace has been very slow, and the spread is consequently very small. In 2023, among the 3,915 listed firms, only 159 met the 30% target for female board members. This means that although more firms appointed women to the board during the Womenomics years, the number of appointees has been minimal. If this situation continues, Japan will fail for the second time to reach its target of “30% of leading positions to be occupied by women.”

I also examined the number of women serving as the chair, the CEO, and a board member for each year from 2012 to 2023 and found that there has been no uptrend for either the chair or CEO. These figures fluctuated year on year with a very small change spread. Among the 31,520 board members in 2023, there were only 21 chairwomen and 54 female CEOs. In other words, of the 3,915 listed firms, only 54 firms were headed by women—hardly a robust picture of female leadership in Japan.

Figure 1. Share of Female Board Members, 2012–2023

 

As for board members, in 2012, only 374 of the 26,294 members were women, accounting for a mere 1.42% of the total. If chairwomen and female CEOs are deducted, the total number of female directors in 2012 was 335. Figure 2 shows that even with the jump in the number of female directors from 2012 to 2023, the ratio of female board members was still small. My data shows that in 2023, the percentage of female board members was 10.93% in 2023; in other words, males still occupy 89% of the boardroom. Without fundamental changes, the chances of Japan reaching the 30% target by 2030 appear bleak.

Figure 2: Number of Female Board Members, 2012–2023


I also examined the relative shares of outside and inside female directors. In 2023, outside directors made up 84.33% of the total, implying that firms have tried to increase the number of female directors by tapping human resources from outside the company, appointing such professionals as business consultants, university professors, and leaders of other firms. Indeed, it is easier for firms to appoint a female director from outside the company, since nurturing and promoting female employees to take on management responsibilities takes time.

This pattern highlights another challenge for Japanese corporations: the small pool of qualified female candidates for leadership positions, both inside and outside the firm. Appointing outside female directors is, at best, a short-term strategy, as even the external supply of qualified candidates is small. This is proven by the fact that outside female directors often serve on the boards of several firms. This situation will not fundamentally change until firms begin actively recruiting more female employees and providing them with opportunities for promotion to senior and leadership positions.

Need for Drastic Change

My research was an attempt to provide an overview of women empowerment efforts in Japan over the last decade and to present updated data about female leadership. It led to new findings on the number of female board directors during the twelve years of Womenomic policy (2012–2023).

During these years, corporate governance reforms resulted in more female directors, especially outside directors, being appointed to executive boardrooms, compared with the years before the policy’s implementation. Policies promoting female leadership thus appear to have been effective for listed firms. However, they have had no tangible impact on top positions, like corporate chairs and CEOs. And Japan may once again fail to reach its 30% target without drastic changes over the next six years.

These findings can serve as meaningful references for investors, corporate leaders, and policymakers. There have been calls for stronger measures to promote gender equality both inside and outside corporate settings so that this target can be reached by 2030. Policymakers need to do more than simply ask firms to hire more women and elevate them to leadership positions. And investors, especially institutional investors, must perform their stewardship duties by engaging directly with the companies in which they invest, persuading management teams and board directors to promote gender diversity, which can, in turn, create more sustainable, fairer, better-run, and faster-growing companies.

[1] This is a short English summary of a paper by the author that was originally published in Japanese. The full Japanese version can be found at: https://www.jsri.or.jp/publish/review/pdf/6402/05.pdf.

[2] https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200626/p2a/00m/0fp/014000c.


References

Kubo, K. and Nguyen, T. T. P. 2021. Female CEOs on Japanese corporate boards and firm performance. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 62, 101163.

Nguyen, T. T. P. 2021. Effects of board gender diversity on firm investment and performance. Waseda Commercial Review, 461, 47-92.

Nguyen, T. T. P. and Thai, H. M. 2022. Effects of female directors on gender diversity at lower organization levels and CSR performance: Evidence in Japan. Global Finance Journal, 53, 100749.

Nguyen, T. T. P. 2024. Nihon ni okeru josei no enpawamento: Tannaru shinboru kara kuritikaru masu e? Shoken Rebyu, 64(2), 115–129.

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The Viability of Coproduction in South Africa’s Local Governments

January 15, 2024
By 28866

Leon Poshai (University of the Western Cape, 2020) used an SRG award to conduct interviews with both local leaders and residents in five South African municipalities to assess the extent to which coproduction—the formalized process by which local governments engage with citizens—can be used to address community problems and enhance the effectiveness of service delivery.

*     *     *

My research sought to assess the viability of coproduction as a strategy for ensuring that citizens have a voice in the policymaking processes in the context of local governance in South Africa. Coproduction refers to the formalized process by which the government engages with citizens when making decisions that affect them (Khine et al. 2021). In the context of local governance, coproduction involves consulting and engaging with residents and their local leaders when reaching decisions on how services should be delivered. The process of coproduction has been regarded as a best practice for the cogeneration of actionable knowledge to address community problems (Osborne, Radnor, and Strokosch 2016).

The overall aim of the study was to assess the extent to which the coproduction model can be used to enhance the effectiveness of service delivery in South Africa’s local government institutions. In this regard, the research explored the various measures that local governments in South Africa are using or can use to ensure that there is regular engagement between local government leaders and residents as recipients of services. For example, the photo below shows ward councillors interacting with residents on community development, which can be seen as coproduction in action.

Citizen-government interaction forms the core of the process of coproduction, https://twitter.com/CityofJoburgZA, accessed June 16, 2023.

Through a qualitative research approach deploying the interview method, I was able to interact with residents and local government leaders in five cities in South Africa, namely, Cape Town, Mpumalanga, Pretoria, Limpopo, and Johannesburg. Their selection was based on the fact that they are major municipalities in South Africa, making them a rich social laboratory for the collection of diverse data from a larger population. I combined both convenience sampling and purposive sampling in selecting the participants. Both face-to-face interviews and telephone interviews were used, based on the availability of the participants.

Through the interviews, I managed to obtain a balanced overview of the utility of coproduction from both the residents and local leaders. I traveled to these cities to interact with residents and obtain an in-depth understanding of the issue investigated in its natural context. This enabled me to gain an appreciation of the need for coproduction as a response to the different service delivery challenges facing South Africa’s local governments.

The study was guided by the following research question:

  1. What are the current strategies for promoting the codesign of policy solutions to address local government challenges in South Africa?
  2. What can local government institutions in South Africa do to improve their citizen engagement methods toward the codesign of solutions to challenges confronting their communities?

The main findings of the study indicate that in local governance, coproduction is the glue that binds societies together, as it brings the governors (leaders) and the governed (residents) together in defining the problems affecting their communities and in designing appropriate solutions to address those challenges. The photo below shows the leadership-resident interface in a South African local government.

Deliberations between a local leader and residents on policy issues, https://twitter.com/CityofJoburgZA/status/1115171024973312000/photo/3, accessed August 21, 2023.

The study also revealed that coproduction enables the kind of regular interaction between the local leadership and residents that is crucial for local development, allowing for collaboration and idea transfer. Without coproduction, it is difficult for local leaders to know what problems are affecting residents and what solutions are needed to address the problems. Thus, the study found that the development of relevant policy responses to local problems hinged on the engagement or collaboration between the leaders and the residents, which is made possible through coproduction.

The study also revealed that when coproduction is not practiced, residents often resist the resolutions passed by their local leaders, sometimes leading to protests or unrest in the communities. Thus, citizens expect that they are duly consulted by their leaders in the decision-making process, and when this is not done, they feel that they are neglected. Residents will not support decisions made without their participation. Interactions with residents revealed that the main reason for protests in different South African municipalities was because of the imposition of decisions by their leaders without their input. Picketing at government offices occurs when residents feel that they are sidelined in the formulation of decisions that have a direct bearing on their lives, and this underscores the need for leaders to engage residents in the decision-making process and the need for coproduction. Interviewed residents highlighted that they feel valued if their leaders engage them before making decisions that affect them, and if this is not done, they will protest against that decision as reflected in the image below: 

Picketing because of poor government-resident engagement, https://www.groundup.org.za/article/tembisa-residents-meet-councillors-over-reblocking-demolitions/, accessed October 25, 2023.

Residents interviewed in Limpopo noted that coproduction is the only way in which they can share their grievances with their local leaders. They indicated that solutions for community problems should come from the members of the community themselves and not be imposed by their leaders. As such, residents indicated that they expect to be consulted by their leaders, such as mayors, councillors, and municipal managers, when decisions affecting their lives are made. The residents indicated that the main service delivery functions that they expect to be consulted on as part of the process of coproduction include issues of water provision, road construction and maintenance, sewer reticulation, waste management, and general good governance. The views shared by the residents emphasized the need for coproduction, which allows for regular engagement between local leaders and residents in designing solutions to problems faced in their areas.

Furthermore, the study showed that coproduction contributes to greater transparency in local governance. The use of local financial resources (local budget) can be done in a more transparent manner if there is open dialogue and communication between the leaders and the residents, which coproduction enables. In particular, transparency in financial resource utilization is achieved through agreements on the areas of resource prioritization. The existence of a pre-agreed strategic plan on the utilization of financial resources enables residents to monitor if the utilization process is in line with the agreed plans, and this helps to minimize the chances of corruption and abuse of public funds (Bandola-Gill et al. 2023). Interviewed municipal officials in Pretoria and Cape Town indicated that they consult and involve residents in developing local budgets and keep them in the loop regarding financial decision-making. This is a major component of coproduction, which creates a sense of transparency in the utilization of financial resources. The residents also concurred that they are consulted in the budget formulation process, and, as ratepayers, this helps them to check the extent to which their rates are being used for agreed priorities.

The research also established that coproduction is key to bridging the gap between governments and citizens. It represents the principal avenue for citizens and the government to engage on issues that matter most, particularly issues of service delivery, helping to build trust between the leaders and the residents. Trust is a fundamental pillar of sound governance, as it nurtures an honest relationship between the government and the citizens (Campanale 2020). Coproduction engenders dialogue between the government and the citizens, which helps in cosetting the local development agenda and policy priorities. 

The study revealed that coproduction should be promoted through public consultations, public opinion surveys, local hearings, and community engagement programs—activities that help provide residents with the necessary information in the decision-making process. Coproduction in South African municipalities creates an open space where residents can share their concerns, offer feedback, and develop proposals for action with their leaders. This helps to ensure that the decisions made by the leaders are resonant with the expectations and realities of the residents. The interview with community leaders in Mpumalanga indicated that the policy decisions made using the coproduction model are highly likely to be responsive to the challenges faced by the communities.

Scholars like Moallemi et al. (2023) have argued that coproduction enables the sharing of information on activities and programs being implemented by the government and helps raise awareness on policy issues. In addition, the process of coproduction leads to greater clarity on the roles that both leaders and residents must play in the efforts to resolve community challenges. Some residents indicated that information on government programs remains erratic, however, as most decisions continue to be made without their input. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement in the South African local government system. It has been argued that the disclosure of information allows citizens to gain an understanding of the issues that affect them. Thus, local government institutions are encouraged to promote the proactive disclosure of relevant information in a clear and timely manner.

The topic of coproduction was chosen because it enables an examination of the interface between the local government leadership and residents. The topic provided a formal way of demonstrating why collaborative engagement between the governors and the governed are important. The findings of this study can contribute to society by enhancing understanding of the need for government and residents to collaborate in defining problems and in generating solutions to address them together. These findings can help local government practitioners in different parts of the world develop strategies for engaging residents and formulate relevant solutions to the challenges facing contemporary local government institutions.

References

Bandola-Gill, Justyna, Megan Arthur, and Rhodri Ivor Leng. 2023. “What is co-production? Conceptualising and understanding the co-production of knowledge and policy across different theoretical perspectives.” Evidence & Policy 19(2), 275–298.

Campanale, Cristina, Sara Giovanna Mauro, and Alessandro Sancino, 2021. “Managing co‑production and enhancing good governance principles: Insights from two case studies.” Journal of Management and Governance 25(1), 275–306.

Khine, Pwint Kay, Jianing Mi, and Raza Shahid. 2021. “A Comparative Analysis of Co-Production in Public Services.” Sustainability, 13(12), 6730.

Moallemi, Enayat A., Fateme Zare, Aniek Hebinck, Katrina Szetey, Edmundo Molina-Perez, Romy L. Zyngier, Michalis Hadjikakou, Jan Kwakkel, Marjolijn Haasnoot, Kelly K. Miller, David G. Groves, Peat Leith, and Brett A. Bryan. 2023. “Knowledge co-production for decision-making in human-natural systems under uncertainty.” Global Environmental Change 82, 102727.

Osborne, Stephen P., Zoe Radnor, and Kirsty Strokosch, 2016. “Co-Production and the Co-Creation of Value in Public Services: A suitable case for treatment?” Public Management Review 18(5), 639–653.

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Challenges in Improving Utilization of Antenatal Care Services in Rural Bihar, India

June 25, 2021
By 27503

(Note: This article is an abridged summary of a chapter from the PhD dissertation of the author submitted to Oregon State University.)

Gautam Anand, a 2019 Sylff fellow, shares insights from his dissertation research, focusing on the poor utilization of antenatal care in India, a problem that is pronounced in rural areas. Based on interviews with health workers and group discussions with women in rural Bihar, he sheds light on the challenges and obstacles to improving access to antenatal care.

* * *

In 2018, nearly 2.5 million neonatal deaths[1] were recorded globally, 22% (549,000) of which were from India alone (WHO 2019a). Similarly, out of a total of 295,000 maternal mortalities globally in 2017, more than 11% were recorded in India (WHO 2019b). Access to antenatal care (ANC) is crucial for reducing neonatal and maternal mortality as well as improving birth outcomes for both mothers and infants (Baqui et al. 2007; Coley and Aronson 2013). However, improving access to antenatal care in India remains a persistent challenge.

Antenatal Care Utilization Still Low in Rural Bihar

A primary health center building.

The 2015–16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-IV) of India reported very poor antenatal care utilization with significant rural-urban disparity (IIPS and ICF 2017). Only 17% of pregnant women in rural areas received full antenatal care, meaning four ANC visits, 100 days of iron and folic acid (IFA) intake, and two tetanus (TT) injections, compared to 31% in urban areas. Further, there are significant geographic disparities too. In Bihar, one of the poorest states with a population of more than 110 million, only 3% of pregnant women in rural areas received full antenatal care, and only 13% of women had four or more antenatal checkups (ibid.). The challenge of low antenatal care utilization in rural parts of Bihar persists despite a targeted policy focus under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which introduced a community health worker (CHW) program under which an accredited social health activist (ASHA) is appointed for every 1,000 in the population. ASHAs have been incentivized to identify pregnant women in their community, register them with the local public health facility, and mobilize and accompany them to visit the facilities to receive antenatal care.

A focused group discussion being conducted with female community members.

It is thus important to understand the challenges faced by ASHAs in improving the utilization of antenatal care in rural parts of Bihar. My study was conducted in two blocks of Nawada district in Bihar utilizing a qualitative research design. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 ASHAs and 10 local health officials, auxiliary nurse midwives, and Anganwadi workers. Seven focused group discussions (FGDs) were also conducted with women community members to understand their concerns with health service delivery at the local level. Using thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling 2001), findings could be categorized into four major themes that emerged from the study: the perceived importance of antenatal care, lack of economic development, institutional obstacles, and sociocultural challenges.

It is important to highlight that utilization of antenatal care has increased significantly thanks to the sustained policy focus on its improvement under the NRHM. ASHAs and community members have observed an overall increase in the level of awareness among women for the need of antenatal care as well as a reduction in incidences of neonatal and maternal mortality over during the last 15 years. However, they noted that ensuring utilization of full antenatal care, especially four checkups and 100 days of IFA intake, remained a big challenge and that they faced many barriers in their efforts to improve it. The ASHAs very well understood what constitutes full antenatal care, and they also emphasized the importance of utilizing the services.

 Challenges and Impediments

Persistent lack of economic opportunities and widespread poverty in Bihar have for long impelled mass internal migration of laborers from the state to other parts of the country (Keshri and Bhagat 2012; Rasul and Sharma 2014; Sharma 2005). This was reflected in the findings; most of the ASHAs identified seasonal migration as a major challenge to their efforts toward full antenatal care utilization. ASHAs reported that seasonal migration was common in their communities as families, mostly poor, migrated to northern and western states for five to six months every year to work as agricultural laborers or in seasonal industries such as brick kilns. This has two critical implications here. First, it severely restricts continuity in outreach and access to care. Second, it often causes delays in identification of pregnant women, resulting in late initiation of antenatal care. In some cases, pregnant women left the community while they were pregnant, disrupting continuity in access to care. In other cases, women returned to their communities and reported to be in the later months of pregnancy without having initiated antenatal care. Widespread poverty poses a barrier too, given that it is correlated with lack of education, resources, and awareness.

 

A maternity ward in one of the primary health centers in Bihar that was in use until 2019. A new maternity ward is being constructed.

It was also reported that the health infrastructure has improved over the years but was still not adequate to meet the needs of full antenatal care. Arrangements to provide antenatal care services were not efficient and lacked quality, which demotivated pregnant women from returning for frequent checkups. Pregnant women must stand for hours in a queue to receive care. Waiting rooms, proper clean toilets, and drinking water were not available in many cases.

Several cultural norms also restrict ASHAs’ ability to ensure utilization of full antenatal care. ASHAs often talked about the cultural norm of pregnant women moving to their mothers’ place, especially during their first pregnancy, which can be challenging. They pointed out that this disrupted the continuity in utilization of antenatal care. A generational gap also restricts their ability to convince women to initiate antenatal care early in the pregnancy and going for frequent checkups, given the traditional belief of reporting pregnancy only after the first trimester is over.

Implications for Policy Design

The findings discussed above have important implications for the design of health policies aimed at improving antenatal care utilization, especially in the context of economic underdevelopment and widespread poverty. The study indicates that there is a limited focus under the program to improve quantity of care utilization and inadequate attention to the quality of care. ASHAs repeatedly pointed out that the poor quality of antenatal care offered at the public health facilities combined with the poor service experience of pregnant women are severe barriers to their mobilization effort. Also, the program design seems to have taken cognizance of the context mentioned above, judging from the importance it has placed on mobilization efforts by ASHAs and its incentivization of these efforts. However, the current incentive structure of ASHAs is narrowly defined, as it places most of the weight on physical outputs achieved and not so much on their counseling and education efforts to improve overall understanding of the need for antenatal care in their communities. A focus on improving the quality of antenatal care and providing adequate institutional support and remuneration to ASHAs will lead to significant improvement in antenatal care utilization.

References

Attride-Stirling, J. 2001. “Thematic Networks: An Analytic Tool for Qualitative Research.” Qualitative Research 1 (3): 385–405.

Baqui, A. H., E. K. Williams, G. L. Darmstadt, V. Kumar, T. U. Kiran, D. Panwar, R. K. Sharma, S. Ahmed, V. Sreevasta, and R. Ahuja. 2007. “Newborn Care in Rural Uttar Pradesh.” The Indian Journal of Pediatrics 74 (3): 241–47.

Coley, S. L., and R. E. Aronson. 2013. “Exploring Birth Outcome Disparities and the Impact of Prenatal Care Utilization among North Carolina Teen Mothers.” Women’s Health Issues 23 (5), e287–94.

Girard, A. W., and O. Olude. 2012. “Nutrition Education and Counselling Provided during Pregnancy: Effects on Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Outcomes.” Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 26, Supplement 1: 191–204.

International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and ICF. 2017. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–16: India. Mumbai: IIPS. http://rchiips.org/NFHS/NFHS-4Reports/India.pdf.

Keshri, K., and R. B. Bhagat. 2012. “Temporary and Seasonal Migration: Regional Pattern, Characteristics and Associated Factors.” Economic and Political Weekly 47 (4): 81–88. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41419769.

Rasul, G., and E. Sharma. 2014. “Understanding the Poor Economic Performance of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India: A Macro-Perspective.” Regional Studies, Regional Science 1 (1): 221–39.

Sharma, A. N. 2005. “Agrarian Relations and Socio-Economic Change in Bihar.” Economic and Political Weekly 40 (10): 960–72. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4416306.

Wehby, G. L., J. C. Murray, E. E. Castilla, J. S. Lopez-Camelo, and R. L. Ohsfeldt. 2009. “Prenatal Care Effectiveness and Utilization in Brazil.” Health Policy and Planning 24 (3): 175–88.

 

[1] Within 28 days of birth.

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Exploring Nuclear Transitions: In Quest of a Framework

July 14, 2020
By 26651

Shounak Set, a Sylff fellow from Jadavpur University, is currently pursuing his PhD at King’s College London. His SRA was conducted at Jadavpur University, which is home to the oldest and largest international relations program in India and is also distinguished by close institutional ties with the Indian defense research establishment. The field trip culminated in immeasurable value for his doctoral dissertation.

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In the second half of the twentieth century, the advent of nuclear science left an indelible imprint in the practice and study of international relations. Nuclear proliferation refers to the spread of nuclear technologies and energy for both civilian and military purposes. Given the political and technological ramifications of the nuclear sector, the nuclear policies of states are essentially a subset of their foreign policy, but they are driven by a variety of discrete considerations. With its apocalyptic potentials, nuclear energy can devastate humankind through atomic weapons, but they can also be a harbinger of prosperity if harnessed for generating electricity. That being the case, when do states use nuclear energy for cooperation, and when for confrontation?

The author meeting with Avtar Singh Bhasin, an eminent archivist of Indian diplomatic history. A one-man army, Mr. Bhasin, having retired from the Ministry of External Affairs, voluntarily collects and publishes relevant documents that are otherwise inaccessible for the benefit of researchers.

The urge to answer these questions resulted in a six-month field trip to India from mid-September 2019 to mid-March 2020, where Jadavpur University served as the host institute. India represents both a challenge and an opportunity for academic engagement on account of its scale and complexity; and it questions several prevailing tenets and assumptions of international relations. At once a rising power and an impoverished nation, both a young state and a legatee to an ancient civilization, it simultaneously confirms and contests prevailing tenets of social science and poses unique challenges of research design. The first country to call for nuclear disarmament on the global stage in 1955, India conducted a series of nuclear weapons tests in 1998 to herald a new epoch. Likewise, after decades of righteous indignation at the institutionalized arbitrariness of the global nuclear order, India was eventually accommodated there in an unprecedented manner through the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement of 2008. In addition to the selection of India as a case, the specific focus on these historical events underscored that the area of focus was situated along several research paradigms including but not limited to international security, science and technology, global order, and political contestation.

Brass Tacks: The Exercise

The field trip—as part of a doctoral study at King’s College London that interrogates the conventional understanding on these two episodic events, namely the 1998 nuclear tests and the India-US Civilian Nuclear Agreement of 2008—was undertaken with the primary aim of data collection, which was to be supplemented by discussions with topical experts. The primary sources mostly comprised interviews and archival material, and the absence of declassified material on the thematic area of focus (nuclear decision-making and proliferation), along with the associated sensitivity of the subject area, impelled an exercise in triangulation research through an interdisciplinary prism. Accordingly, data was collected from multiple sources in tandem with elite interviews among a wide range of individuals comprising mostly retired diplomatic, security, and political functionaries who had been direct participants in the cases under study. The initial plan was to conduct 20 interviews, but 35 interviews were ultimately conducted across New Delhi, Kolkata, and Bangalore through snowball sampling; this to led to progressive uncovering of diverse aspects. In order to facilitate optimum utilization of resources, archival research in New Delhi and Kolkata was conducted concurrently with the interviews rather than following a sequential approach.

The author interviewed Dr. V. S. Arunachalam, the scientific advisor to successive Indian defense ministers from 1982 to 1992. Dr. Arunachalam has been intimately associated with the Indian missile and nuclear weapons development programs.

Along with the above, discussions and consultations with 16 topical experts were also undertaken, which contributed toward refining the project by clarifying several aspects. Requisite steps such as anonymization of certain interviewees and data security protocols were followed for storage of confidential data and protecting the identities of key personnel as per considerations of security and research ethics.

Research Redux

Essentially probing the intersection between nuclear policymaking and domestic factors in India, the study adopts process tracing to analyze policy transformations through a foreign policy change framework. In conducting in-depth case studies of major foreign policy changes in the recent past, it hypothesizes that domestic politics gain salience during points of significant transformation and leverages the findings in a theory-building exercise through Bayesian reasoning. This approach accounts for the diversity of ideational and institutional forces at play in these policy transitions of historic magnitude; these forces remain inadequately addressed by extant studies, which are circumscribed by linear approaches characteristically prioritizing global-level variables at the cost of the domestic and vice versa.
While the nuclear tests in 1998 heralded a “Second Nuclear Age” in tandem with the realities of the global shift of power from the West to the East, the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement of 2008 epitomized a metamorphosis of the global order through an irreversible transformation of the international nonproliferation regime. These events portended global ramifications, marked a drastic reorientation of India’s external behavior, and were accompanied by salient domestic political realignments.
Cognizant of these manifested confluences of global, regional, and domestic factors, this study eschews singular explanatory frameworks and attempts to construct an integrative model that explains major policy transformations. The research identifies political parties as the salient vector of domestic politics and probes the interface between political parties and major foreign policy outcomes of the recent past. Political parties form the government, which conducts foreign policy. However, scholars of comparative politics deal with political parties but leave the study of foreign policy to their counterparts in international relations and vice versa. In the process, the interlinkage between political parties and foreign policy remains in the shadows. While studies on political parties in international relations are scarce in general, in the case of India, there is a conspicuous absence.

Relevance and Outcome
The quality and quantity of the accumulated data has contributed substantially to the structural robustness of the key argument and has convinced me to add another chapter to my dissertation. The number of chapters based on my field trip data stands at three, in contrast to my initial plan of two for the same. With the progression of the field trip, the unpacking of historical cases and their attendant complexities corroborated the initial formulations of the study, which had problematized the conventional narratives.

The author after an interview with Mr. Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra, the Indian foreign secretary from 1982 to 1985. Having joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1949, Mr. Rasgotra has been involved in several historic moments in Indian diplomacy, and his counsel has been sought by successive prime ministers of India.

While the bulk of the literature is premised on the insularity of domestic politics in the conduct of Indian diplomacy, this study finds that major foreign policy changes are not generated by exogenous factors alone; and despite its limited salience in regular times, domestic politics gain a critical dimension during these moments of transition. This is crucial, since it reflects foreign policy making in a rising power and builds on a growing body of research on rising powers in international relations. The major findings indicate a gap between existing conventional postulates and the empirical specificities, as the timing of the 1998 nuclear tests and the unprecedented reorientation of the international nuclear order through the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement contest existing theories of international relations. These include a global-domestic dichotomy in the process of salient junctures and a limitation of path-dependency models.
Previously unexamined primary sources highlighting the need for alternate explanations of historical cases were uncovered and pose significance for potential revision of extant conceptions and assumptions. The collected data facilitates the broadening and widening of the empirical and conceptual templates of foreign policy analysis, which remains anchored in a Western setting. While the process has affirmed the major observations of the study prior to this field trip, it has also led to a reappraisal and update of some earlier formulations of this study.

Concluding Remarks

Professor Shibashis Chatterjee, the director of the Sylff Program at Jadavpur University, acted as the local supervisor and added considerable value to the project. Professor Chatterjee happens to be the director of the School of International Relations and Strategic Studies and an acknowledged expert in the specific topic as well, with acclaimed publications to his name. While our interactions in themselves proved to be intellectually enriching to the project, Professor Chatterjee also made efforts to help me access relevant institutions and provided consistent administrative support. The latter proved to be crucial as, toward the end of 2019, India was witnessing severe political upheaval, which generated grave law and order issues and adversely affected my schedule. Since the completion of the project, he has also emerged as a benevolent mentor concerned about my professional and social well-being in the true spirit of the Sylff family.
The extended Sylff community at Jadavpur University provided a friendly and welcoming milieu that made my stay in India pleasant and memorable. In retrospect, the field trip facilitated by the Sylff Research Abroad program has not only been of immeasurable value to the doctoral dissertation, but it has also been instrumental for my professional growth. In the vortex of the twenty-first century, radical trends typically overwhelm extant arrangements and generate new challenges without resolving older ones. Against this backdrop, this journey has been immensely fulfilling at both the emotional and intellectual levels and shall enable me to embark on my career as a scholar engaged in the study and promotion of international peace and human understanding.