Disembedded politics: discourses on Neoliberal Labor Law reforms in Lithuania (2014–2016)

Abstract

Since regaining its independence in 1991, Lithuania has undergone a process of chaotic privatization in which labor was systematically disempowered, above all, by the targeted erosion of labor rights formally endorsed in the pre-existing Soviet labor code. In the newly legitimized and aggressive pro-business environment of the post-Soviet era, organized labor's residual power was seen as an anachronistic impediment to the power of capital in reshaping society and the economy. This article investigates the political dynamics of disembedded labor law reform in Lithuania, which enabled neoliberal reformers to legislate while disregarding broader societal interests and imposing unilateral changes in labor relations. A content analysis of 852 news media reports on labor law reforms published in 2014–2016 was used to demonstrate how discursive and institutional exclusion and sequencing were employed by the neoliberal government to circumvent the interests of major social and economic groups, resulting in the passage of pro-business legislation. The implications of resorting to disembedded politics in the labor reform process are discussed.