With the rentier state, citizens view the government as beholden to their rent. Looking at Jordan, a non oil exporting state with a weak tax collection system, the large external rent that the Jordanian government is dependent on is foreign aid. First of all, since the money is single handedly flowing from the hands of Western super powers, the citizens view the government as a puppet of the West. An incident that illustrates this principle most vividly is Jordan's adoption of 1989 IMF sponsored economic programs, including privatization. Rather than catering to the majority of the citizenry, the programs favored the business elite and the King's loyalist supporters. The privatization dislocated Jordanian youth and East Bankers - Palestinians - who depended on work through state-owned enterprises. The new policies encouraged private enterprises to turn these workers away due to a newfound preference for foreign laborers willing to work below market wages. In this situation, it is clear that the rentier economy exacerbates the disconnect between citizen and government because the regime is not accountable to its citizens through a strong tax collection system, rather it is accountable to the Western superpowers who control the rent that supports the state's economy. This disconnect damages the legitimacy of rentier states in the eyes of the citizen because it highlights the government's weaknesses and shortcomings.
I really like the way that you've explained your point about the disconnect between the state and the citizen in a rentier state such as Jordan, where the government acquires what it needs through foreign governments and isn't beholden to the citizens, as they don't pay taxes. I also think that it's important to note how there have been many accounts of citizens not holding the government accountable when it comes to issues of economics, however still expecting the government to stay in line with cultural and religious norms, displaying some kind of legitimacy in the government however on a completely different scale than what we see in the states due to their rentier economy.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting how you bring up this concept of the citizens viewing the government as a "puppet of the West." That is something I have never considered before and I think it might be very accurate. Many citizens of the MENA world, especially those deeply ingrained in Islamic culture, have very strong anti-Western feelings. This may foster even a hatred between the citizens and their governments so that was an excellent point.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this case with Jordan also demonstrates some of the issues with the adoption of neoliberal macroeconomic policies in rentier states. Instead of modernizing and improving the macroeconomic environment as these programs are intended, they fostered cronyism, monopolies, hurt the domestic economy, and exacerbated the wealth gap in the country. This seems to be the pattern that plays out when rentier states are encouraged to privatize. However, I feel that this does not mean that neoliberal macroeconomic principles are fundamentally unable to improve the economic situations of MENA states. If they are implemented differently to be inclusive of the local populations by channeling the money to support the creation of locally-run firms which would create competitive markets that incentivize the lowering of prices and the raising of wages. Maybe, the IMF could provide money for the subsidization of local workers' wages rather than give grants for these governments to outsource to foreign firms to put the money in the hands of the workers who need it rather than large, foreign companies. They could also support a low-interest micro-loan program to support the creation of local businesses and stimulate the economy. I think that Western development organizations need to branch out to listen to the concerns of the people they are trying to improve the lives of rather than trying to plan these programs from afar without considering the local needs.
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