The Political Economy of Divergent Welfare States in the Global South: The Case of South Africa and Mauritius (International Political Economy Series)

✍ Scribed by Elias Phaahla

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2024
Tongue: English
Leaves: 248
Category: Library

No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.

✦ Synopsis

This study traces the welfare regimes of Mauritius and South Africa from the early 20th century focusing on the historical circumstances that gave rise to the dominance of state-funded old-age pensions within their respective welfare frameworks. It highlights intersections between powerful business interests, the state, and social forces that sowed the seeds of social entitlements. Due to different mobilisation efforts of these social actors, both countries have spawned welfare regimes of different persuasions. Mauritius has maintained its long-standing traditions as a social democracy stretching back to the late 1950s, while South Africa continues relentlessly in pursuit of a liberal welfare state, a journey it has treaded since 1928 when the old-age pension laws first came into effect. While unravelling the innermost workings of welfare state development in Mauritius and South Africa, it also probes the present political and economic circumstances that have kept these two welfare regimes resolutely unchanged. Against this backdrop, it draws parallels between current welfare outcomes and those of old as they continue to chart their way into the future.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Acronyms
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Historical Antecedents Behind Remarkable Variance in Social Policy Outcomes in South Africa and Mauritius
References
2 A Tale of Two Countries: Theoretical and Analytical Framework in Comparative Social Inquiry
Why the Framework of Sandbrook et al. and Not that of Cox – Or Both?
Structural Origins of Capitalism and the Global Economy
Class Power, Civil Society and State Arrangements
Significant Historical Periods and Players: Political Parties and Ideology
References
3 South Africa and Mauritius in a Macro-Causal Social Inquiry
Comparative History in Macro-Causal Social Inquiry
Mauritius and South Africa as Comparative Cases
Path Dependency and Process Tracing in Comparative Historical Research
Data Collection and Interview Processes
Stakeholder Interviews
Political Parties
Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations
Private Sector
Government Officials
References
4 State-Building and the Making of the Racially “Exclusive” Welfare State in South Africa
Conditioning the Structural Properties of Capitalism the Divergent Development Outcomes Within the White Society
In the Beginning: Capital Accumulation and Competing Settlers’ Interests
Critical Junctures and Workers’ Resistance to Economic Marginalisation
Workers’ Resistance to Capital and the Quest for a Social Consciousness
Configurations of Class Interests, Political Ideologies and Conditioning of the State
Capitalism and the Political Class Struggle
The Rise of the Liberal Welfare State: Pensions and White Civilisation
Pensions and the White Society
Pensions as an Outcome of Political Ideologies and Capital Accumulation Convergence
Not Retreating: The Resistance of Pensions against Retrenchments
Conclusions
References
5 State-Building and the Emergence of a Social Democratic Consensus in Colonial Mauritius, 1598–1968
The Structural Properties of Capital Accumulation in Mauritius
Colonial Rule and the Creation of a Socially Stratified Society
The Distant Colonial State
Left to Their Own Devices: The Hegemony of Capitalism over the Colonial State
Configurations of Actors: The Rise of the Grassroots Movement and Calls for a Socially Responsive State in Mauritius
The Rise of Cross-Class Mass Collaborations
The Role of Critical Junctures in the Quest for Welfare Reforms in Mauritius
The Organisational Strength of the Social Democratic Movement
The Long Road Towards Social and Political Reforms, 1937–1945
Democratising the State and Paving the Path of Social Democracy, 1945–1967
Conclusions
References
6 Retaining the Social Democratic Welfare Consensus in Post-colonial Mauritius, 1968–Present
The Overlap of Critical Junctures and Structural Properties of Capitalism in Retaining Egalitarian Ethos in Mauritius
Keeping Social Democratic Principles Intact in Post-colonial Mauritius
Modifying Structural Conditions of Capital and Striking an Élite Compromise
The Bias of the Labour-Led Government against Ultra-Leftist Social Reformers
Configurations of Class and Ethnic Interests Through All-in Consultations in Mauritius
Breaking with Tradition: A Shift from Tripartite to Broad-Reaching Consultation Platforms
The Role of Broad-Based Consultations in Sustaining Egalitarian Policies During the Period of Structural Adjustment, 1979 to 1985
Broad-Based Collaborations and the Keeping of the Social Democratic Consensus After Structural Adjustments, 1983 to 1995
Testing Economic Times and the Role of Cross-Class Collaborations as the Safeguards of the Welfare Consensus, 1995 to 2005
Conclusions
References
7 State (Re)-Building and Welfare State Development in Post-apartheid South Africa
The Lasting Legacies of Capitalism
Retaining the Structural Properties of Capitalist-Based Economy as the Legacy of the Minerals Industrial Energy Complex
Configurations of Class Interests and the Fragmentation of Social Mobilisation
The Left’s Workerist Outlook and Egalitarian Implications
Welfare Outcomes in the Post-1994 Era: Developmental Welfare & the Position of Pensions
From RDP to Developmental Welfare Regime
Lack of National Consensus and Implications on Social Security
Pensions in the South African Society
Conclusions
References
8 Welfare Paradigms of South Africa and Mauritius: Reflections and Prospects for Future Research
Theoretical Reflections and Welfare Outcomes through Prisms of Critical Junctures, Configurations of Class Forces, and the Structural Properties of Capitalism
The Cases: Varieties of Welfare Capitalism as Mirror of the Quality of Social Mobilisation
Capital as the Catalyst for Social Awareness
The Quality of Social Responses Hinges on the Character of Social Mobilisation
Social Mobilisation as Promoter of Competitive Centre-Left Politics
The Mass Movement as the Guardian of the Welfare Consensus
Welfare Policy Outcomes and the Dominance of Pensions
Points to Ponder for Future Research
References
Appendices
Appendix 4A
Appendix 4B
Appendix 4C
Appendix 4D
Appendix 5A
Appendix 6A
Appendix 6B
Appendix 6C
Appendix 6D
Appendix 6E
Appendix 7A
Appendix 7B
Index

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