The curious career of an African modernizer: South Africa's Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's second democratically elected president, was born into left-wing politics. In exile, he became the face of the African National Congress (ANC) and developed a reputation as a modernizer. He returned to the country and built relations, not with the ANC's internal allies, but with the country's business community. In 1996, as Mandela's deputy, Mbeki implemented a neo-liberal economic package, called GEAR, which alienated many. In office, he both failed to acknowledge the threat of HIV/AIDS to the country and refused to pressure the failing regime in Zimbabwe; but it was his bypassing of parliament that ultimately led to his failure as president.     

Africa's prospects and South Africa's leadership potential in the emerging markets century

This article examines Africa's role in an evolving international system where powerful emerging markets, such as bric, together with established powers are shaping economic trajectories. The specific focus is on South Africa as an aspiring leader on the African continent, and on its potential for becoming an emerging market shaping the global order together with bric and the West. It is unclear whether a changing global economy in which the postcolonial world plays a greater role will result in improved developmental prospects for Africans as African countries gradually reorient themselves from the West to the South, or whether relations with emerging markets will resemble neo-colonial ties with the West. South Africa's structural weakness, stemming from serious domestic problems of a social, political and economic nature, threatens to undermine its standing in Africa and its emerging market status.     

南非抱“金砖”意义非凡

对南非而言,刚刚过去的2010年可谓＂双喜临门＂——年中,在全世界的注目下成功举办世界杯足球赛,令世人刮目相看;年底,收到来自中国的＂圣诞礼物＂——如愿以偿成为＂金砖国家＂一员。     

The Philippine democratic uprising and the contradictions of neoliberalism: Edsa II

Select responses to the January 2001 uprising against the government of President Josef 'Erap' Estrada in the Philippines demonstrate a great deal about certain contradictions and paradoxes implicit in neoliberal conceptions of democratic governance. This paper presents a critique of these conceptions, based on a radical democratic outlook. Dubbed EDSA II - given its location at the same place as the 1986 Epifanio de los Santos uprising against President Ferdinand Marcos - the uprising resulted in Estrada's replacement by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and a different faction of the Philippine political elite. Despite never seriously threatening the hold and influence of traditional political elites in the Philippines, the uprising was criticised by some Western commentators. Their criticisms were founded on mistaken interpretations of events and are a reflection of these commentators' increasing reluctance to endorse any forms of popular political mobilisation and resistance. Their reluctance is a reflection of their neoliberal conception of democratic governance, which privileges the building of institutions to promote market efficiency over issues of power and social change.     

The legacy of compliant activism in autocracies: post-Communist experience

Compliant activism – that is, political activity of the population, either fully supporting the regime, or merely criticizing individual shortcomings of its policies – strengthens authoritarian rule. However, compliant activism can over time turn into non-compliant one. Hence, the regimes need to ensure that the norms of compliant activism are internalized by the society and become self-enforcing. We use the case of the Communist legacies in Russia to show that compliant activism can, indeed, become highly persistent and outlive the regime, where it emerged. Using cross-regional variation in the levels of compliant activism in the contemporary Russia, we demonstrate that it is strongly affected by the variation in the membership share of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The results have broader implications beyond the Russian case and provide relevant insights for studying political activism in autocracies.     

Neopopulism and neoliberalism in Latin America: Unexpected affinities

Why have political populism and economic liberalism coexisted under Presidents Menem in Argentina, Collor in Brazil, and Fujimori in Peru? In order to elucidate this surprising convergence, which established conceptions of populism did not expect, this article stresses some underlying affinities between neoliberalism and the new version of populism emerging in the 1980s. Both neopopulism and neoliberalism seek to win mass support primarily from unorganized people in the informal sector, while marginalizing autonomous organizations of better-off strata and attacking the “political class.” They both apply a top-down, state-centered strategy of wielding political power. Finally, neoliberal efforts to combat Latin America’s deep economic crisis yield some benefits for poorer sectors, to which neopopulist leaders appeal, while imposing especially high costs on many of the better-off opponents of neopopulism.     

Governance and disorder: neoliberalism and violent change in Jamaica

Structural adjustment policies (SAPs) facilitate the hollowing out of the traditional roles performed by states. As a consequence, private entities (some perverse) offer services the state is incapable of or unwilling to provide. Beginning in the 1980s, SAPs plunged neighbourhoods in Latin America and the Caribbean into socioeconomic, and political disorder. This paper assesses the relationship between neoliberal reforms to the Jamaican state and the metamorphosis of violence since the mid-1980s. Neoliberalism transformed violence in Jamaica by increasing inter-gang conflicts, shootings and gang-related murders in Kingston’s garrisons. It also transformed political enforcers into community dons who use violence as a tool for business transactions in the international drug trade, and as a method of gaining local respect and authority.     

Views from the periphery: Futures of neoliberalism in Latin America

The political economy of Latin American countries seems increasingly characterised by neoliberal approaches. Economic factors at the global and continental scale seem to reinforce this trend. This article explores the social bases of neoliberalism not only in terms of the technocratic but also of the wider social and political base. The connections between neoliberal reform, people and places are explored through examining the nature of exportorientated growth, the transformations of labour markets, the social impacts of reform, poverty and the changing social provision of the state. The contradictions within the neoliberal model are examined before the future of neoliberalism and the prospects for alternative development strategies and sociopolitical scenarios are considered. In particular, the arguments from neostructuralist contributions are assessed and some of the contrasts between neoliberal and neostructural theories identified.     

The administrative legacy of ancient India

Marx and Weber considered ancient Asian bureaucracies as irrelevant for the modern world. But one important element of the Indian bureaucratic legacy namely, the district overlord or collector, was taken over by the British and instituted all over their Asian and African possessions. It still forms the foundation of field administration in all these countries after independence. This paper traces the textual origins of centralized Indian bureaucracy in Kautilya's Arthasastra, its dilution over the centuries due to the failure of imperial integration in India, compared to its success in China and the survival of the district overlord institution which the British resuscitated and modernized. The paper also speculates about the reasons for the failure of Marx and Weber to interpret or predict Indian development.     

Overcoming the division bloc and its limitations: a Gramscian approach to South Korean social formation

Abstract

Colonialism affects post-colonial social formations in a variety of ways. Japanese colonial rule had a far-reaching influence on South Korean post-colonial social formation. Most legacies of colonialism diminished as time went by, but one legacy of colonialism continued or even increased its effects on the South Korean political economy from the 1960s – namely, the division of Korea. This article provides an alternative Gramscian approach to the analysis of the social formation of South Korea, with due consideration of the division of the peninsula. For that purpose, it introduces the concept of a division bloc, adapting Gramsci’s concept of a historical bloc to develop an analysis of a social formation that is unique to South Korea. Then, I explicate the two events that have been most damaging for the division bloc – the 1997 economic crisis and the 1998–2007 inter-Korean reconciliation – describing them as an organic crisis and a hegemonic project, respectively. Following this, I present reasons why the counter-hegemonic efforts of liberal nationalists to overcome the division bloc failed.     

India's South Asia policy in the twenty-first century: new approach,old strategy

Maintaining regional supremacy and stability and denying extra-regional actors a military foothold in South Asia have long been key objectives of India's regional policy. In pursuance of these objectives, India displayed a willingness to undertake coercive action against its smaller South Asian neighbours. Evidence of this is seen in the military intervention in Sri Lanka (1987–1990) and a virtual economic blockade of Nepal (1989–1990). However, during the past decade, India appeared to draw away from such overt interventionist policies and even accepted outside actors like Norway and the United Nations being involved in the peace process in Sri Lanka (2002–2006) and Nepal (2006–2011), respectively. Notwithstanding India's apparent shift in behaviour, these actions do not represent a fundamental change in the country's traditional policy towards the region.     

Africa's AIDS crisis in context: 'how the poor are dying'

The 13th International Conference on AIDS held in Durban, South Africa, highlighted the social catastrophe unfolding on the African continent. The meeting took place in the country with the largest number of people infected by HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - on the continent that is home to 70% of the world's HIV-infected population. The cruel irony of the unfolding human tragedy is that Africa is also the least equipped region in the world to deal with the multiplicity of challenges posed by the HIV virus. Drawn from ongoing research in southern Africa, this article charts the relationship between poverty, HIV prevalence and the politics of global response.     

Structural change and neoliberalism in Mexico: 'Passive revolution' in the global political economy

This article examines an enduring context of 'passive revolution' in the making of modern Mexico by developing an account of the rise of neoliberalism during a period of structural change since the 1970s. It does so by analysing and understanding both the unfolding accumulation strategy and the hegemonic project of neoliberalism in Mexico since the 1970s as emblematic of the survival and reorganisation of capitalism through a period of state crisis. This is recognised as a strategy of 'passive revolution', the effects of which still leave an imprint on present development initiatives in Mexico. Therefore, through the notion of 'passive revolution', the article not only focuses on the recent past circumstances, but also on the present unfolding consequences, of neoliberal capitalist development in Mexico. This approach also leaves open the question of 'anti-passive revolution' strategies of resistance to neoliberalism.     

From democratic socialism to neoliberalism: the metamorphoses of the people's national party in Jamaica

Why are leftist parties in government abandoning their state-led, redistributive economic development models in favor of market-determined neoliberal ones? Conventional explanations emphasize conditionality of international financial institutiosn. This argument, though, fails to account for differences in economic policy choices across countries or within a country over time. Analyzing the social democratic People's National Party of Jamaica during two periods when it accepted IMF-mandated neoliberal economic reform measures (1977–80 and 1989-present), an alternative approach is presented to illuminate why and how leftist governments switch economic policy programs. The two time periods show that IMF conditionality might be a necessary motivation for the adoption of neoliberal economic measures, but it is not sufficient motivation. I argue that the actual policies the PNP governments employed reflect changes in the relative influence of competing factions within the party. This approach, focusing on domestic actors rather than international ones to account for economic policy shifts, highlights the ways in which politicians can manipulate institutional rules to change the relative weight of different factions within the party to gain support for policy decisions that contradict the party's traditional social democratic ideology.