TY - JOUR
T1 - Explaining the dominance of legacy unions in new democracies
T2 - Comparative insights from Indonesia
AU - Caraway, Teri L.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2008/10
Y1 - 2008/10
N2 - The continued dominance of legacy unions-state-backed unions inherited from the previous nondemocratic regime-has received little scholarly scrutiny. Through an analysis of Indonesia, this article presents a focused theoretical framework for analyzing the staying power of legacy unions and the strategies they pursue to maintain their dominance. The author argues that the capacity of legacy unions to survive is a product of inherited advantages (membership, institutional, and legal) and the transition context (economic conditions, union competition, and partisan links). Legacy unions adopt three strategies for survival-carrots, sticks, and reform-and pursue a strategy of reform only when they retain meager inherited advantages and face an unfavorable transition context. The article also offers suggestions for additional research to further develop the theoretical framework.
AB - The continued dominance of legacy unions-state-backed unions inherited from the previous nondemocratic regime-has received little scholarly scrutiny. Through an analysis of Indonesia, this article presents a focused theoretical framework for analyzing the staying power of legacy unions and the strategies they pursue to maintain their dominance. The author argues that the capacity of legacy unions to survive is a product of inherited advantages (membership, institutional, and legal) and the transition context (economic conditions, union competition, and partisan links). Legacy unions adopt three strategies for survival-carrots, sticks, and reform-and pursue a strategy of reform only when they retain meager inherited advantages and face an unfavorable transition context. The article also offers suggestions for additional research to further develop the theoretical framework.
KW - Comparative labor politics
KW - Democratization
KW - Indonesia
KW - Labor unions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=50849116389&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=50849116389&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0010414007303094
DO - 10.1177/0010414007303094
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:50849116389
SN - 0010-4140
VL - 41
SP - 1371
EP - 1397
JO - Comparative Political Studies
JF - Comparative Political Studies
IS - 10
ER -