Migrant remittances and democracy

Thesis

Abstract:: How do migrant remittances affect the prospects for democracy in receiving states? In this thesis, I use a range of methods including statistical analysis of macro-economic and micro-level survey data and qualitative interviews to investigate this question. I use cross-national data, barometer surveys from the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and post-Communist countries and 63 interviews conducted with remittance recipients in Jordan and Tunisia.

I find that remittances from migrants in democratic states are associated with political liberalisation and the downfall of authoritarian regimes, but that remittances from migrants in non-democratic states are not. An important causal mechanism is that of protests: remittances from democratic countries fuel protests in authoritarian regimes. On the individual level, I show that remittances are associated with greater non-electoral political participation because recipients perceive themselves to have higher levels of economic security. I also find that financial remittances from democratic countries are accompanied by and reinforce the transmission of social remittances in the form of pro-democratic political norms.

In addition to the main findings, I present the first evidence for electoral remittance cycles in authoritarian regimes, clarify our knowledge about how and why remittances affect different forms of political participation and add to our understanding of the political dimensions of social remittances.