Browsing by Author "van Zyl, Ernst Jacobus"

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    Redistributive populism versus strengthening property rights: A comparative study of Venezuela and Zimbabwe, and Uruguay and Botswana
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) van Zyl, Ernst Jacobus; de Jager, Nicola; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Liberal democracies are commonly lauded for their accomplishments in maintaining democratic stability, as well as steady trends of decreasing poverty. The general observation has been that liberal democracies have exhibited impressive records of economic growth, accompanied by relative political stability. However, as the 21stcentury has progressed, issues such as inequality persist and new political trends emerge. The liberal democratic paradigm is evidently coming under increasing scrutiny and in many cases challenged. Many of these challenges originated in a new wave of populism, of both a left-wing and right-wing variety, which are gaining a foothold and momentum in the Western world, as well as in the global South. While the Western democracies are witnessing a resurgence in right-wing populism, the global South is being increasingly characterised by the rise of left-wing populism. This thesis focuses specifically on case studies in the global South and thus on a populism of the left built on a platform of radical redistribution. The thesis attempts to answer the following research question: Is redistributive populism a sustainable long-term policy path for economic growth, poverty and inequality reduction, and for democratic consolidation, or is protecting and enforcing property rights a better alternative to achieve these aims? In order to answer this question, four case studies were compared and contrasted: Venezuela and Zimbabwe were selected as cases where redistributive, left-wing populist regimes have prevailed and under which property rights were substantially eroded; Uruguay and Botswana represent cases of the protection and enforcing of property rights.This qualitative thesis utilises a comparative case study research design, using desktop analysis. In Venezuela and Zimbabwe a decline in support for the incumbent party was the catalyst for increasingly radical redistributive populist platforms. This thesis found that the redistributive populist cases of Venezuela and Zimbabwe achieved initial improvements in poverty reduction, but that as their redistributive policy paths became increasingly radicalized, these positive conditions stagnated and eventually regressed. Under these redistributive populist regimes, liberal democratic checks on power were weakened or eliminated, and their radical policies led to prolonged periods of substantial economic contraction and hyperinflation. When the Chávez and Maduro regimes in Venezuela, and the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe, failed to deliver on their populist promises and their economies faltered, their support dwindled further, resulting in an increased radicalization of their redistributive policies and escalated suppression of the opposition in order to retain power. The cumulative result was that support for democracy as the preferable system significantly declined amongst the populations of their countries. Their democracies therefore deconsolidated through declining support for democracy and the erosion or elimination of liberal democratic institutions. . In contrast, the two cases where property rights were protected and enforced, namely Uruguay and Botswana, achieved impressive declines in poverty levels and sustained relatively high levels of economic growth. Protecting property rights contributed significantly to their investor-friendly economies and attracted large amounts of foreign direct investment. Venezuela and Botswana were both were rich in one major commodity, but in contrast to Venezuela, where the regime nationalised the oil industry, Botswana negotiated a deal with the diamond industry on the basis of respecting its property rights. The result was that the diamond industry became the engine of the Botswana economy, as it split the revenues with the government, which then re-invested in infrastructure, education and healthcare, and diversifying the economy. Both Uruguay and Botswana are internationally recognised for their strong liberal democratic institutions and stable democratic records, and support for democracy in both countries is significantly high. Their democracies have been able to maintain their level of consolidation, as well as build on it. Yet none of the four cases examined has shown a radical reduction in their Gini coefficients, which is a phenomenon requiring further research.