Mathilde Maîtrot’s research while affiliated with University of Bath and other places

Motivation Many mainstream welfare theories developed by social scientists and applied by economists and policy‐makers underestimate families' roles in providing welfare to citizens. This is surprising given that the family constitutes one of the main welfare pillars across typologies of the welfare state. Purpose This article seeks to explore the role of the family as a welfare pillar with an ageing perspective. We aimed to test whether the family serves as a space for negotiations to improve wellbeing and achieve security in the absence of effective formal mechanisms Methods and approach Applying the framework of “informal security regimes,” this article draws on 37 life‐history interviews collected from older persons living in extreme poverty in Bangladesh. Recurring themes are identified and analysed to explore the relationship between family and wellbeing/security. Findings We find that family relationships are often central in the pursuit of security. This shows how welfare delivery in low and middle‐income countries (LMICs), in this case Bangladesh, is deeply rooted in reciprocal family systems where all members actively fulfil moral and material expectations. Pursuing this collective goal can take different forms relative to each member's physical and mental capacity, position, gender, and age. Building on the empirical evidence, we propose the concept of “relational security” as a crucial marker and shaper of wellbeing. Policy implications To be effective, welfare policies need to better consider how the conception and experiences of wellbeing and security, especially for the older persons living in extreme poverty, are deeply embedded within the complex functioning of the relationships that can shape welfare outcomes in different directions.

The use of coercion to pursue dominance over rivals is often seen as a defining feature of more ‘authoritarian’ and ‘hybrid’ political systems. In many contexts however, it is also a routine part of democracy. The difference between these arrangements then lies not so much in the presence of violence and coercion per se, but in how precisely they are organised institutionally and deployed. This is examined here through the case of Bangladesh, where, despite decades of intense and violent political competition, the ruling Awami League has solidified control through three consecutive landslide victories in general elections. Central to how this has been achieved is the empowerment of domestic security agencies, which can be seen as existing in a ‘nexus’ with the party, configured at both the national and local levels. The police in particular have been prioritised, politicised, and directed against the opposition under cover of maintaining law and order. It is then the depth of these inter-dependencies which marks Bangladesh’s recent politics. This has intensified the political entrepreneurialism of the police, and raises questions concerning the balance of power within this nexus.

Microfinance is widely portrayed as a tool that empowers poor women to challenge constraining social institutions and make better, rational choices that will enable them to escape poverty. At the same time, the reported impact of microfinance is underwhelming, and scandals and poor practices are widely documented. This then poses a puzzle: why do people still borrow from microfinance institutions? This article seeks to answer that question through an ethnographic examination of the moral economy of microfinance in rural Bangladesh, investigating how morality shapes the remit of legitimate economic activity and social change locally. For men, microfinance fieldworkers use stories of moral ‘idols’ to embed narratives of microfinance within existing rural social institutions as a way to legitimize and normalize microfinance. For women, borrowing is presented as a means to perform dharma — the ‘correct order of things’ — a moral imperative to protect, retain or compete for male guardianship. The moral economy of microfinance is one that motivates people living in poverty to imitate and conform to prevalent gendered and hierarchical norms and values. These arguments highlight the significance of conformity to social and moral obligations in economic behaviour, and bear important implications for understanding the remits of social change.

The authority of political leaders in Bangladesh rests on diverse qualities, not least of which are the muscle and finance they can mobilize, and the relationships they can craft with senior party members. These are utilized to confront rivals both within and outside their own party. In some instances, the intensity of intra-party competition can be so severe that a further quality emerges: the capacity to find allies among enemies. Building local inter-party alliances can bolster the authority of politicians, yet be to the detriment of party coherence. This argument is developed through an analysis of mayoral and parliamentary elections held in the past decade in a small Bangladeshi city, where a ruling party member of parliament (MP) and opposition mayor appear to have developed such a relationship. This has thwarted the electoral ambitions of their fellow party members and has posed a serious challenge to party discipline. While political competition is often seen as being either inter- or intra-party, here it is focused around inter-party alliances. This portrayal suggests we need to give greater emphasis to the decentralized and local character that political authority can take in Bangladesh.

Understanding and addressing the factors that affect progress in antipoverty interventions is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In Bangladesh this topic has been largely explored through quantitative approaches, and we believe in-depth qualitative analyses of household dynamics in the context of antipoverty interventions is lacking. This article addresses this lacuna. Based on 49 focus group discussions and 15 case studies, we analyse livelihood dynamics of beneficiary households within a national extreme poverty alleviation program. We identify five determining factors to the effectiveness of antipoverty interventions: 1) health shocks, natural hazards, and vulnerabilities; 2) household demography; 3) inappropriate IGA planning, implementation, and monitoring; 4) dependence/inaction; and 5) political and social instability. We argue that livelihood-based antipoverty initiatives often fail because they do not address these five factors, and call for a comprehensive approach that prioritises them in program design.

Objectives: In recent years, Bangladesh has made remarkable advances in health outcomes; however, the benefits of these gains are unequally shared among citizens and population groups. Dalits (jaat sweepers), a marginalised traditional working community, have relatively poor access to healthcare services. This study sought to explore the sociopolitical and cultural factors associated with health inequalities among Dalits in an urban setting. Design: An exploratory qualitative study design was adopted. Fourteen in-depth interviews, five focus group discussions and seven key informant interviews were conducted. The acquired data were analysed using an iterative approach which incorporated deductive and inductive methods in identifying codes and themes. Settings: This study was conducted in two sweeper communities in Dhaka city. Participants: Participants were Dalit men and women (in-depth interviews, mean age±SD 30±10; and focus group discussions), and the community leaders and non-governmental organisation workers (key informant interviews). Results: The health status of members of these Dalit groups is determined by an array of social, economic and political factors. Dalits (untouchables) are typically considered to fall outside the caste-based social structure and existing vulnerabilities are embedded and reinforced by this identity. Dalits' experience of precarious access to healthcare or poor healthcare is an important manifestation of these inequalities and has implications for the economic and social life of Dalit populations living together in geographically constrained spaces. Conclusions: The provision of clinical healthcare services alone is insufficient to mitigate the negative effects of discriminations and to improve the health status of Dalits. A better understanding of the precise influences of sociocultural determinants of health inequalities is needed, together with the identification of the strategies and programmes needed to address these determinants with the aim of developing more inclusive health service delivery systems.