POLS 430/570
Fall 2013
Dr. Nadia Farah
Office: 2012
Email: nfarah@aucegypt.edu
The Political Economy of Post-Neoliberalism
Latin America vs. the Middle East
Class Hours: U 5:00-7:25
Class Room: HUSS 143
Office Hours: WU 3:30-4:45
A great number of Latin American countries adopted the neoliberal policies from the mid-1970s.
These policies led to chronic economic crises and their drastic neoliberal resolution, such as
increased poverty and inequality, higher levels of unemployment, and lower standards of living.
These economic conditions produced, among other things, anomie, disorder, and societal
disorganization.
The effects of the adoption of neoliberalism in Latin America reignited collective protests and
forced presidents to leave office. Other forms of political protests took the form of
antigovernment mobilizations against economic liberalization. New forms of protest took the
shape of road blockades, Seizure of public buildings, Land invasions and occupations, Riots and
marches, in addition to the traditional forms of labor strikes.
In the last decade, the neoliberal policies and the social and political protests led to the collapse
of many Latin American regimes, such as Argentina economic collapse in 2001. A new policy
frame emerged in many Latin American countries which relies more on state-led development
and the adoption of social democracy. Social democracy is a redistributive system to decrease
inequalities, reduce poverty and obtain the support of the groups which were marginalized and
pauperized under the neoliberal policies. These policies are known as Neo-Populism.
So how does the Latin American case relate to the Middle East and especially Egypt? The socalled Arab Spring was motivated in large part by the drastic neoliberal policies adopted by most
Middle Eastern countries, especially Egypt and Tunisia. But the new regimes emerging in these
countries are oblivious to the effects of neoliberalism and are following the same economic
policies of the previous regimes. What is achieved in the Arab Spring countries is ironically the
superimposition of political Islamism on the drastic economic policies followed by the deposed
regimes. That is why political protest is continuing in the Arab Spring countries due to the failure
of the current regimes to deal with the deep economic crises and the increasing inequalities
ravaging the new democracies.
In this course we aim at the study of Latin America experiments with the new policies that are
targeting growth but also social equity. We also aim at formulating new economic policies for
the Arab Spring countries especially Egypt that might resolve the deep economic crises ravaging
the new regimes. CAN WE LAERN FROM LATIN AMERICA?
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Participation
Assignments
Two Presentations or a book review
Final Research Paper Last Week
10%
30%
30%
30%
Class Policies
1. No one is to enter the classroom after the instructor
2. Cell phones are to be switched off
3. No taping of lectures
4. Cheating during written exams is heavily penalized. A student caught cheating will earn
an F for the Whole course and will be referred to AUC Academic Integrity Committee.
5. Students are required to submit written assignments. Plagiarism is a serious academic
offense. To avoid the suspicion of plagiarism, the instructor may ask students to present the
rough work used in preparation and submit to an oral exam. If evidence of plagiarism is
found, the student will automatically earn an F grade for the whole course and he/she will be
referred to AUC Academic Integrity Committee.
6. Late assignments will be penalized by a subtraction of 5% of the grade for each day of
the first week. No assignments will be accepted after the first week of determined date for
submission and the student will earn an F grade on the assignment.
7. 10% of the grade of every written assignment will be based on “Adequacy of English
Usage.”
Readings & Schedule
A CD including all the readings will be handed to each student at the beginning of the
Class.
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2-5: Post Neoliberalism
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Roger Merino Acuña: What is “post” in post-neoliberal economic policy? Extractive
industry dependence and indigenous land rights in Bolivia and Ecuador
MoisésArce :The Repoliticization of Collective Action: After Neoliberalism in Peru;
Sharon Beder: Global Financial Crisis;
James K. Galbraith, Laura Spagnolo and Sergio Pinto: The Decline of Pay Inequality in
Argentina and Brazil following the Crises and Retreat from the Neo-liberal Model ;
James Galbraith and Sara Hsu: Trade Policy in the Post-Neoliberal Era ;
UrsˇaGolob, Klement Podnar and Marko Lah: Social economy and social
responsibility: alternatives to global anarchy of neoliberalism?
Jean Grugel& Maria Pia Riggirozzi: The Return of the State in Argentina;
Graham Harrison: Post-neoliberalism?
Fadhel Kaboub: Elements of a Radical Counter-movement to Neoliberalism:
Employment-led Development
Cristobal Rovira Kalwasser:Moving Beyond the Washington Consensus: The
Resurgence of the Left in Latin America
David Kotz: Neoliberalism and the U.S.; Economic Expansion of the ’90s
Simon Granovsky-Larsen: Upsetting Neoliberalism: The End of an Era in Latin
America
Minqi Li: After Neoliberalism: Empire, Social Democracy, or Socialism
Yahya M. Madra & Fikret Adaman: Public economics after neoliberalism: a
theoretical–historical perspective
Ziyanis¸ and Fikret Senses: Rethinking the Emerging Post-Washington Consensus
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Thomas I. Palley: From Keynesianism to Neoliberalism: Shifting Paradigms in
Economics
James Petras : Latin America’s New Middle Class Rulers
Gerardo Rénique: Introduction, Latin America today: The revolt against
neoliberalism
Pia Riggirozzi & Jean Grugel: Post Neoliberalism: Rebuilding and Reclaiming the
State in Latin America
Dani Rodrik: After Neoliberalism, What?
Richard Sandbrook: Polanyi and Post-neoliberalismin the Global South: Dilemmasof
Re-embedding the Economy
Case Studies
All the Readings for the Case Studies are included in the CD.
Week 6: Argentina
Paul Cooney. Argentina’s Quarter CenturyExperiment with Neoliberalism:From
Dictatorship to Depression
Rutherfelder & Viviana Patroni: Austerity and its Aftermath Neoliberalism and Labour in
Argentina.
Peter Ranis. Factories without Bosses: Argentina’s Experience with Worker-Run
Enterprises.
Pia Riggirozzi. After Neoliberalism Argentina: Reassesing Nationalism in an Open
Economy
Week 7: Bolivia
Benjamin Kohl. Stabilizing neoliberalism in Bolivia: popular participation and privatization
Robert R. Barr. Bolivia: Another Uncompleted Revolution.
Raúl L. Madrid. The Rise of Ethno-Populism in Latin America: The Bolivian Case
Jeffery R. Webber. From rebellion to reform Bolivia’s reconstituted neoliberalism.
Håvard Haarstad & Vibeke Andersson. Backlash Reconsidered: Neoliberalism and Popular
Mobilization in Bolivia.
Week 8: Brazil
Leslie Bethell.Populism in Brazil: from Getúlio to Lula.
Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira.Populism and Economic Policy in Brazil
Christine Kearney. The Poverty of Neoliberalism in Brazil: Economic Culture and Policy
Choice.
Francisco Panizza. Neopopulism and its limits in Collor's Brazil
Armando Boito. Class Relations in Brazil's New Neoliberal Phase
Peter Kingstone. Sobering Up and Going Global: Brazil’s Progress from Populism and
Protectionism.
Peter H. Ladner. Reinvention Without Replacement: The Role of Inertial Statism and
Brazil’s Economic Bureaucracy in Maintaining an Active Developmental State
Week 9: Venezuela
Jonathan DiJohn. The Political Economy of Anti-Politics and Social Polarization in
Venezuela, 1998-2004
Michael Dodson and Manochehr Dorraj. Neo-populism in Venezuela and Iran: a
Comparative Assessment.
Luis Ricardo Davila. Old and New Populism in Venrzuela: The Construction of a Political .
Luis Ricardo Dávila. The Social and Political Imaginary of the Venezuelan Revolution
Gregory Albo. The Unexpected Revolution: Venezuela Confronts Neoliberalism
Week 10: Chile
Timothy David Clark. Putting the Horse Before the Cart: Neoliberalism and Post
Neoliberalism in Chile
Jacobo Schatan. Poverty and Inequality in Chile: Offspring of 25 Years of Neoliberalism
Andrés Solimano. Three Decades of Neoliberal Economics in Chile Achievements, Failures
and Dilemmas.
Jewellord T. & Nem Singh. Governing the Extractive Sector: The Politics of Globalisation
and Copper Policy in Chile.
Week 11: Mexico
George Philip. Populist possibilities and political constraints in Mexico
Denise Dresser. Neopopulist solutions to neoliberal programs, Mexico National Solidarity
Program
Judith Teichman.Neoliberalism and the Transformation of Mexican Authoritarianism
Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, Juan Ernesto Pardinas Carpizo and Jaime Ros Bosch. Economic
development and social policies in Mexico
Week 12: Middle East
Djavad Salehi-Isfahani. Poverty, Inequality, and Populist Politics in Iran
Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, and Ali Hashemi.Voting for Populism:
An Analysis of Iran's 2005 Presidential Election
Lee Smith. Middle Eastern Upheavals Weakening Washington’sMiddle East Influence
Andy Wynne. North Africans Revolt Against New Public Management as Well as For
Democracy
Asef Bayat.Social Movements, Activism and Social Development in the Middle East
Week 13: Egypt
Assef Bayat. Populism, Liberalization and PopularParticipation: Industrial Democracy in
Egypt
Joel Beinin. Political Islam and the New Global Economy: The Political Economy of an
Egyptian Social Movement.
Stephen Maher. The Political Economy of the Egyptian Uprising
Week 14: Wrap Up.