Tariq Thachil, Neoliberalism’s Two Faces in Asia: Globalization, Educational Policies, and Religious Schooling in India, Pakistan, and Malaysia

Why do states with converging economic policies in southern Asia have diverging educational policies? Variations in the structure of domestic support for political elites in India, Pakistan, and Malaysia show that the state’s role in social provisioning during reforms was differently interpreted and implemented despite economic growth in all three countries. Indian and Pakistani elites, who are more dependent on clientelist networks and religious organizations seeking to provide their own schooling, face incentives to privatize education. In contrast, Malaysia’s government relies on horizontal networks of support, is hostile towards Islamic groups, and therefore faces incentives to increase the public provision of education. Differing incentives construct policies that enable or contain the growth of religious extremism.