Esta tesis doctoral sobre todo explora los efectos de la desigualdad de ingresos y otras formas de heterogeneidad —con especial consideración hacia diferencias regionales— sobre la voluntad individual de implementar planes generales de redistribución, y de formar parte de una unión política. En la primera parte, analizamos la heterogeneidad de las preferencias sociales en un modeloestándar de votación en el que los agentes eligen el parámetro de redistribución en una democraciadirecta. En particular, y de acuerdo con la evidencia experimental, suponemos que coexisten votantes egoístas, rawlsianos y utilitaristas. Caracterizamos implícitamente el único equilibrio políticode esta economía, y demostramos su existencia. Resulta que el nivel de redistribución en unaeconomía compuesta por votantes heterogéneos puede ser inferior o superior al caso egoísta. Porotra parte, mostramos que pequeñas variaciones en la proporción relativa de un determinado tipo de individuos pueden dar lugar a cambios muy importantes en el alcance de las políticas de redistribución, e igualmente ilustramos las consecuencias que ello puede tener en el contexto de laeconomía política de la formación de la nación. Por último, investigamos las implicaciones teóricas del modelo sobre el vínculo entre la desigualdad y la redistribución, y demostramos que produce diferentes predicciones con respecto al modelo estándar de votantes egoístas. En la segunda parte, se estudia la posibilidad de elegir entre la redistribución centralizada ydescentralizada en un modelo de economía política, asumiendo la heterogeneidad regional en relación tanto a la riqueza como a la identidad. Un sistema centralizado permite una beneficiosaredistribución entre regiones, pero también puede disminuir el grado de solidaridad en la sociedadcomo resultado de la lealtad al grupo. En este contexto, se observa que la maximización del bienestar total está estrechamente ligada a la minimización de la desigualdad, tanto dentro comoentre regiones. Analizando por separado dos casos particulares en una democracia directa —no desigualdad interregional y no lealtad al grupo— se destaca la existencia de un efecto escala y un efecto poolingde la redistribución centralizada, respectivamente. En ambos casos, la centralización Pareto-domina la descentralización. Por lo tanto, descentralizar sólo se justifica cuando ambasfuentes de heterogeneidad regional están presentes. A su vez, esto significa que el teorema de ladescentralización no se cumple en nuestro enfoque de economía política de la redistribución con lealtad al grupo. Por último, asumiendo transferencias voluntarias interregionales en la descentralización, mostramos que la centralización siempre domina la descentralización. En la tercera y última parte, se estudia el uso de la descentralización parcial como una forma de evitar el conflicto secesionista, asumiendo desigualdad interregional de riqueza y redistribución entreregiones. Si bien la descentralización permite a los gobiernos regionales de satisfacer mejor a laspreferencias locales, lo cual mitiga el conflicto, sino que también exacerba la desigualdad interregional, que a su vez contribuye al conflicto. Se demuestra que, a pesar de que un aumento de la desigualdad siempre alimenta el conflicto en ambas regiones, la probabilidad de una secesiónpuede aumentar o disminuir con la desigualdad, dependiendo de si la unificación es socialmenteeficiente o no. De ello se desprende que, por una parte, el rango de niveles de descentralización necesarios para que la solución pacífica (descentralizada) sea políticamente sostenible siempre seincrementa con la desigualdad. Mientras que por otra parte, el nivel particular de descentralizaciónque se lleva a cabo bajo la amenaza de un conflicto puede ser mayor o menor. Por último, mostramos que cuando la descentralización es un proceso irreversible, no puede impedir el conflictosecesionista para cualquier nivel de desigualdad. / This dissertation mainly explores the effects of income inequality and other forms of heterogeneity —and in particular at the regional level— on the individual willingness to implement general redistribution schemes, and to form part of a political union. In the first part, we introduce heterogeneous social preferences in a standard model of voting on a redistributive parameter in a direct democracy. In particular, and in accordance with experimental evidence, we assume that selfish, rawlsian and utilitarian voters coexist with given proportions. We characterize implicitly the unique political equilibrium of this economy, and prove its existence. It turns out that the level of redistribution in the heterogeneous economy may be either lower or higher than in the selfish one. Furthermore, we show that slight variations in the relative proportion of a given type may lead to very important changes in the extent of redistribution, and we illustrate the implications this may have in the context of the political economy of border formation. Finally, we investigate the theoretical implications of the model regarding the link between inequality and redistribution, and show that it yields different predictions than the standard model with self-interested voters. In the second part, we study the choice between centralized and decentralized redistribution in a political economy model assuming regional heterogeneity regarding both average income and group identity. While centralizing redistribution allows for a potentially beneficial pooling of national resources, it may also decrease the degree of solidarity in the society as a result of group loyalty. In this context, we show that total welfare maximization is closely linked to the minimization of inequality both within and between regions. Analyzing separately two particular cases under direct democracy —no interregional inequality and no group loyalty— we highlight the existence of a scale effect and a pooling effect of centralized redistribution, respectively. In both cases, centralization Pareto-dominates decentralization, from which it follows that the rationale for decentralization only arises when both sources of regional heterogeneity are present. In turn, this means that the Decentralization Theorem does not hold in our political economy approach of redistribution with group loyalty. Finally, allowing for voluntary interregional transfers under decentralization, we show that, due to free-riding, centralization always welfare-dominates decentralization with transfers. Furthermore, it is not even generally true that allowing for such transfers is welfare-increasing under decentralization. In the third and last part, we study the use of partial decentralization as a way to avoid wasteful secessionist conflict in the presence of income disparities between regions. Although decentralization allows regional governments to better target local preferences, which in principle mitigates conflict, it also exacerbates interregional inequality, which in turn may contribute to conflict. We show that, even though an increase in inequality fuels conflict in both regions, the probability of a secession occurring through conflict may be either increasing or decreasing in inequality, depending on whether unifying is socially efficient or not. It follows that, on the one hand, the range of decentralization levels such that the peaceful (decentralized) outcome is politically sustainable always increases with inequality, while on the other hand, the particular level of decentralization that is implemented under the threat of conflict may be either lower or higher. Finally, we show that when decentralization is an irreversible process, it cannot prevent secessionist conflict for any level of inequality.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地域研究) / 甲第24016号 / 地博第295号 / 新制||地||114(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科東南アジア地域研究専攻 / (主査)教授 玉田 芳史, 教授 片岡 樹, 准教授 TANGSEEFA Decha / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Area Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

This dissertation considers how the party-state of the People’s Republic of China has been mobilizing various forms of interpellation in an attempt to sustain a continuous imagination of a particular community defined on the terms of a shared “Chinese” national identity. As well, the research considers how these forms of interpellation have been challenged by a range of complex diasporic viewer responses. Taking media productions of the Mainland China television industry as my point of reference, I have studied in detail, multiple productions of the widely popular, complex program, the Spring Festival Gala (SFG) produced by China Central Television. Though not without its contradictions, this show has employed various interpellative strategies, persistently and continuously hailing viewers into the subject position of loyal members of an enduring “Chinese Nationality.” However, interpellation is one thing, subjectification within it is another. To better grapple with the cultural citizenship of transnationalized Chinese, this dissertation also considers observations regarding the receptions of the SFG by diasporic “Chinese subjects” who now live in Canada. While their continuous imagining of the “Chinese Nationality” helps to better understand the complex mechanisms which contribute to the retaining power of interpellation, their moments of “de-imagining” also shed light on the problems and difficulties of such interpellation. These moments are considered as possible openings to the formation of fluid, multiple Chinese subjectivities that lay the groundwork for a “flexible citizenship” (Ong, 1993; 1999) for all “Chinese,” furthering the endeavor to go beyond certain nationalist and/or statist visions of identity, subjectivity, and citizenship.

This dissertation considers how the party-state of the People’s Republic of China has been mobilizing various forms of interpellation in an attempt to sustain a continuous imagination of a particular community defined on the terms of a shared “Chinese” national identity. As well, the research considers how these forms of interpellation have been challenged by a range of complex diasporic viewer responses. Taking media productions of the Mainland China television industry as my point of reference, I have studied in detail, multiple productions of the widely popular, complex program, the Spring Festival Gala (SFG) produced by China Central Television. Though not without its contradictions, this show has employed various interpellative strategies, persistently and continuously hailing viewers into the subject position of loyal members of an enduring “Chinese Nationality.” However, interpellation is one thing, subjectification within it is another. To better grapple with the cultural citizenship of transnationalized Chinese, this dissertation also considers observations regarding the receptions of the SFG by diasporic “Chinese subjects” who now live in Canada. While their continuous imagining of the “Chinese Nationality” helps to better understand the complex mechanisms which contribute to the retaining power of interpellation, their moments of “de-imagining” also shed light on the problems and difficulties of such interpellation. These moments are considered as possible openings to the formation of fluid, multiple Chinese subjectivities that lay the groundwork for a “flexible citizenship” (Ong, 1993; 1999) for all “Chinese,” furthering the endeavor to go beyond certain nationalist and/or statist visions of identity, subjectivity, and citizenship.

This study analyses the practice implemented by the government of Mozambique immediately after independence, from 1975 to 1985, of placing secondary school teachers around the country. Such practice consisted of putting teachers born in the south of the country to teach either in the central, or in the northern region, on the one hand; on the another, those who were born in the centre of the country were being placed to work or in the south, or in the north; and those born in the north were being sent to teach in the central or southern part of the country. The government’s arguments in so doing were to mould a nation. The study explores whether this practices was a deliberate policy. The presupposition that it may have been a formal policy comes from the fact that during the struggle for the liberation of Mozambique, the then movement leading the war, Frelimo, had as its guiding principle to ‘kill the tribe for the nation to be born’; so people from different regions of the country were compelled to work closely together in every activity of the movement. The theoretical framework includes a discussion of the concepts of ‘ethnic group’, ‘nation’, ‘nationalism’ and ‘nation-state’. Throughout the literature review, the way nations have been historically constituted worldwide, the way African leaders tried to build their nations, the philosophy behind the idea of ‘nation-states’ they developed are discussed at length. Given that education has been considered as a key pillar to achieve this specific end, the contribution of this sector to the processes of building a nation is brought to the fore. The study is a qualitative analysis and exploratory in essence. Fifty persons – including high ranking officials and teachers – who designed and implemented or were involved in the practice, were interviewed as the main foundation of the research. The outcomes of the analysis as well as the analogy itself are multidisciplinary. It concludes that the practice was not a policy in the classical meaning, that is a core of written principles and practices approved by a competent social institution and followed in a certain community, it existed only in speeches. Secondly, that in fact the practice contributed to the nation building process, people involved in it gained awareness of the vastness and ethnic diversity of the country. Finally, it reveals that de facto the policy had unintended interpretations. Given that the majority of the people sent throughout the country were southerners – something which the headmasters of the practice apparently were not aware of –, the unbalance of educated cadres that began during the colonial period were simply perpetuated and not critically addressed. As a result, “Southern dominance” in the administration of the country (in this instance the education system) provided the basis for dissatisfaction in other areas of the country. The study agrees with Connor (1990) that nation-building is a process, and concludes that Mozambique is on the road to nation formation, to which the practice contributed to a considerable degree. / Dissertation (M (Social Science in Sociology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Sociology / unrestricted