Essentials of Comparative Politics: Chapter 10 - Developing Countries

• Middle Income Countries:
    - Defined as historically less-developed countries that have achieved significant economic growth and democratization.
    - Commonly referred to as Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs).
    - Economic Threshold: Per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) between $4,000$ and $13,000$.
    - Many of these countries are now comparable to developed democracies in terms of institutional quality and economic reach.

• Lower Income Countries:
    - Defined as countries that lack significant economic development, political institutionalization, or both.
    - Commonly referred to as Less Developed Countries (LDCs).
    - Economic Threshold: Per capita GDP (PPP) below $4,000$.

• Evolution of Terminology:
    - Old Terms:
      - Third World: A classification used during the Cold War era.
      - Global South: A geographic grouping encompassing Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
    - Current Terminology:
      - Developing Countries: A broad term encompassing both lower-income and middle-income countries.

Geographic Distribution of Developing Countries

• Latin America and Caribbean:
    - Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela.

• Asia and Oceania:
    - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Cyprus, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

• North Africa and Middle East:
    - Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

• Africa:
    - Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Congo (Republic of), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

• Europe:
    - Turkey.

The Nature and History of Imperialism and Colonialism

• Definitions:
    - Empire: A single political authority that exerts sovereignty over a large number of external regions or territories and diverse populations.
    - Imperialism: A system where a state extends its power to directly control territories, resources, and people beyond its own borders. Characteristics include:
      - Domination primarily by European powers from the $1500s$ to the $1900s$.
      - Drivers include economic gain, strategic positioning, and cultural/religious motives (e.g., missionary work).
    - Colonialism: An imperialist system specifically involving the physical occupation of foreign territory using military force, business entities, or settlers.

• Historical Timeline:
    - Emerged significantly due to technological advances allowing European powers to project power globally.
    - Regions Controlled:
      - Latin America: Primarily Spain and Portugal.
      - Middle East: Managed by the Ottomans, and later by France and the United Kingdom.
      - Africa: Controlled by France, Portugal, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
      - Asia: Dominated by the United Kingdom and Portugal.
    - End of Age: Major wars (World Wars) eventually brought the age of imperialism to an end.

Institutions of Imperialism

• Exporting the State:
    - Imperial powers imposed the European form of political organization on the rest of the world.
    - Created new, often artificial, borders that did not correspond to existing ethnic or geographic realities.
    - Transferred bureaucratic structures and legal systems.
    - Established national languages (typically the language of the imperial power).
    - Institutionalized police and military forces, taxation systems, and public goods (roads, schools, and hospitals).

• Social Identities:
    - Imperialism created and codified ethnic and national identities where they may not have existed previously.
    - Colonial structures often favored certain groups over others, creating hierarchies that fueled independence movements and post-independence conflicts.
    - Gender Roles: Imperial gender roles were imposed on colonies; the impact was mixed and varied by region and specific imperial power.

• Dependent Development:
    - Traditional agricultural economies were replaced by cash-based systems tailored to the needs of the imperial center.
    - Mercantilism: Colonies produced primary commodities only, while finished goods were sold back by the imperial center.
    - Local industry development was restricted, and trade with rival empires was prohibited.
    - Monopolies: Economic control was often held by massive business entities like the United East India Company (Dutch) and the British East India Company.
    - Infrastructure (urbanization and transport) was designed specifically for extraction rather than domestic integration.

Capacity, Autonomy, and Governance Challenges

• Definitions Review:
    - Capacity: The state's ability to carry out basic tasks like defense, rule-making, economic management, tax collection, and infrastructure building.
    - Autonomy: The state's ability to wield power independently of public or international pressure.

• Causes of Weak Capacity:
    - The departure of foreign imperial bureaucrats left a professional vacancy (imperial power vacuum).
    - The politicization of the bureaucracy through clientelism, rent-seeking, and corruption.

• Causes of Weak Autonomy:
    - Patrimonialism: The state is captured and exploited by leaders for personal gain.
    - Kleptocracy: Literally "rule by theft."
    - Example (Nigeria): In the $1990s$, officials stole over $1,000,000,000$ ($1$ billion) dollars.
    - Example (Malaysia): In $2016$, the U.S. government seized asset values of $1,000,000,000$ ($1$ billion) dollars stolen by individuals close to the prime minister.

• Consequences of Weakness:
    - Weaker rule of law, leading to higher levels of criminality.
    - A volatile environment that discourages long-term economic investment.
    - Militaries often become the only institution with any remaining capacity, leading to frequent military rule and non-democratic regimes.

• Corruption Benchmarks (Transparency Rankings):
    - Least Corrupt: Denmark (Rank $1$), United Kingdom (Rank $11$), Canada (Rank $13$), Japan (Rank $18$).
    - Highly Corrupt: Nigeria (Rank $154$), Venezuela (Rank $177$), Somalia (Rank $178$).

Challenges of Creating Nations and Citizens

• Ethnic and Religious Divides: Many societies face group-based wealth inequality and the political dominance of one group over others.
    - Arbitrary Boundaries: Post-colonial states often inherited borders that grouped hostile ethnic groups together.
    - Examples of Conflict-Prone Systems:
      - Mexico: People of European origin traditionally dominate politics/economics over indigenous populations.
      - Iraq: Sunni rule over the Shia majority led to sectarian conflict after $2003$.
      - Syria: Alawite monopolization of power resulted in civil war.
      - Sudan: Dominance of the Arab north over the Black African south led to civil war and eventual partition.

• Gender and Economic Inequality:
    - Property and labor rights often favor males, exacerbated by dowries and cultural traditions.
    - Consequences: Women have less leverage in family decisions; daughters are viewed as financial burdens leading to neglect or "gendercide" (infanticide); higher rates of human trafficking.
    - Nicaraguan Case Study: In the $1980s$, women involved in the Sandinista revolution lobbied for land law reforms for joint ownership. However, local inheritance customs led to "asset violence" and property blackmail by husbands.

Paths to Economic Growth

• Import Substitution:
    - Strategy: Restricted imports (mercantilist) to spur demand for local goods.
    - Tools: Tariffs, nontariff barriers, subsidies, and state-owned (parastatal) companies.
    - Outcome: Generally considered a failure; created "hothouse economies" that were uncompetitive internationally; led to the Middle Income Trap (growth slows before catching up to developed countries).

• Export-Oriented Industrialization:
    - Strategy: Focused on technologies and industries specifically for the export market.
    - Tools: Strategic government subsidies, capitalizing on the product life cycle, and seeking niches in the international market.
    - Outcome: More successful than import substitution (notably in Asia), though rising labor costs and international demand dependencies are risks.

• Structural Adjustment Programs (Neoliberalism/Washington Consensus):
    - Strategy: Economic liberalization in exchange for loans from the World Bank or IMF.
    - Tools: Privatization of state firms, ending subsidies, reducing trade barriers, shrinking the state/welfare, and encouraging foreign investment.
    - Outcome: Success depends on the country; criticized by some as neocolonialism; caused political instability, such as anti-IMF riots in Egypt ($1977$) and Greece ($2010-2012$).

Puzzles and Prospects for Democracy

• The Informal Economy: A segment of the economy not regulated or taxed by the state.
    - Pros: Highly flexible and provides employment for women.
    - Cons: Lack of state revenue; prevents businesses from "scaling up."

• Policy Interventions:
    - Microfinance: Small loans channeled through borrowing groups common in Bangladesh (Grameen Bank). Evaluation: Little evidence it works significantly at scale.
    - Millennium Villages: $14$ African communities given targeted interventions for health and food security. Evaluation: Mixed results.
    - Fair Trade: Research in Ethiopia and Uganda found it may lead to more hired child labor, lower worker pay, and benefits that mostly reach large farms.

• Comparative Industrialization: Scholars debate why Asia industrialized faster than Latin America, suggesting theories ranging from US geostrategic interest to land ownership reforms.