The Contentious Politics of the Welfare State in the Global South
Erdem Yoruk (Koc University)
April 15, 15:00 CET
Description:
This talk examines the changing relationship between welfare, democracy, and authoritarianism in the Global South. Drawing on comparative research on Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey, Erdem Yörük argues that emerging market economies have been developing a distinct welfare regime that differs from the classical welfare state models of the Global North. This regime, which he conceptualizes as the Populist Welfare State Regime, is characterized by the expansion of social assistance under conditions of high informality, weak universalism, and intense political contestation. The talk explores how welfare expansion in the Global South has often been shaped not simply by poverty reduction goals, but by contentious politics and the growing political salience of the poor as both a source of support and a source of threat for governments. In this context, social assistance frequently serves multiple political functions: securing electoral loyalty, managing unrest, and containing insurgency or protest. Combining comparative welfare data, protest event data, and cross-national quantitative analysis, the talk shows that welfare provision can no longer be understood only as a democratizing institution. In many contexts, it has also become a central instrument through which populist and authoritarian regimes govern, consolidate support, and reshape state–society relations. The seminar therefore reflects on what the rise of this welfare regime tells us about the politics of redistribution, democratic backsliding, and authoritarian resilience in the twenty-first century.
