Democratization vs Militarization. The Politics of Welfare in Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab Spring
Discussant: Friederike Luise Kelle (WZB)
We cordially invite you to the next session of our new workshop series on Authoritarian Politics and International Relations at WZB! Saara Inkinen will talk about the dynamics of social policy making in the aftermath of political regime change in North Africa. She presents a paper co-authored with Roy Karadag and Kressen Thyen entitled “Democratization vs Militarization. The Politics of Welfare in Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab Spring”. Focusing on the evolving relationship between old and new political elites as well as the role of international financial institutions, she argues that regime change has not altered the very contradictory principles of welfare provision: Both Tunisia and Egypt continue their balancing act between domestic pressures toward more encompassing social policy and external demands for neo-liberal reforms. The resulting policies have thus allowed problems of exclusion, poverty, and social injustice to persist, the main difference being the much higher degrees of coercion and repression in the Egyptian case.
Friederike Luise Kelle is a fellow in WZB’s research unit Global Governance where her research focusses on subnational demands for self-determination.
The seminar series aims at bringing together scholars from Comparative Politics and International Relations. We invite papers combining comparative authoritarianism and IR, as well as contributions that help clarify important theoretical concepts and empirical patterns in either discipline. Colleagues interested in presenting in the workshop series should email Alex Tokhi (alexandros.tokhi [at] wzb.eu) or Alex Schmotz (alexander.schmotz [at] wzb.eu).
When: Once a month on a Tuesday afternoon
Where: WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin, Room A305
What: A classic format: 90 minute research seminar with one paper presentation (15 min), one discussant (10), and plenty of time for Q&A
Who: All scholars from WZB and the Berlin area and anyone interested in authoritarian politics and/or international relations
The next sessions you can find here.
Organized by Alexandros Tokhi (Department Global Governance) and Alexander Schmotz (Department of Democracy & Democratisation)