The Zuma moment: between tender-based capitalists and radical economic transformation

ABSTRACT

The Jacob Zuma Presidency (2009–2017) was dogged by persistent allegations of corruption and the looting of State Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) by those allied to him. It led to allegations of state capture that placed the Gupta family at the centre of this project. These allegations have been highly contested, with Zuma supporters arguing that he has come under attack because of his support for the BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), which they hold challenges Western imperial interests. Alongside this are those aligned to the Gupta family, arguing that the real culprits of state capture, both historically and in contemporary South Africa, is White Monopoly Capital (WMC), through its ability to determine macro-economic policy. At the heart of this contest is what has come to be known as tender-based capitalists who sought to use access to SOE’s for the accumulation of capital. This process has been defended on the basis that it has the potential to lead a radical economic transformation (RET) that that can challenge the power of WMC. Others have held that this argument is a mere fig leaf for the looting of state coffers, eroding its capacity for deeper developmental initiatives and fostering a parasitic class. This article that focusses on this debate that entered the heart of the African National Congress (ANC) and threatened to tear it apart takes the form of a conjunctural analysis; conjuncture defined as an amalgam ‘of circumstances, a convergence of events, an intersection of contingencies and necessities, a complex, overdetermined state of affairs-usually producing a crisis, leading to breaking point, driving to historic crossroads’ (Mowitt 2015 Mowitt, John. 2015. “In The Conjuncture.” In Cultural Critique. Vol. 89, 125–127. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar], 125).     

Explaining community mobilization in the city of Vilnius: a search for social capital

The article explores community mobilization in the urban environment. Specifically, it examines community organizations in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius. Engaging with social capital theory, the article illustrates the actual community mobilizations, their stories, collective action strategies, and reasons for mobilizing. It challenges the assumption that mobilizations rarely take place in the urban environment of Lithuania due to low civil society and a nonparticipatory culture. This article shows that when mobilizations do take place, they can be short lived but still achieve significant results.     

Opting for Openness: Capital Mobility and Monetary Sterilisation in Malaysia

Malaysia gained attention for its use of capital controls in 1998, but since the early 2000s it has emphasised its commitment to an open capital account, despite experiencing volatile capital flows. As well as opting for financial openness, Malaysia chose to manage the value of its exchange rate after de-pegging from the US dollar in 2005. In a bid to escape the macroeconomic constraints that arise from capital mobility, Malaysia also chose to sterilise a large portion of capital inflows. It then made a further choice to use market-based sterilisation instruments more than regulatory sterilisation measures. These choices have carried costs and led to a build-up of economic risk. Three interrelated factors explain these choices: Malaysia’s strategy to manage the stigma arising from its imposition of controls in 1998, the increased level of financial integration that followed from this strategy, and the politically privileged position of groups that have benefitted from Malaysia’s commitment to capital openness.     

资本制度变迁的财务学解析

本文运用财务理论系统解析了资本制度变迁的决定因素,不仅为深化公司资本制度问题研究拓展了新的视野,也对我国公司完善财务治理结构,建立更加有效的资本市场机制,以及为我国《公司法》的实施和进一步改革提供了更加科学的理论根据。     

论改革年代中国政府能力转型发展

政府能力是解释政府有效性的关键。动态的组织能力观点为透视改革年代中国政府能力转型发展和理解中国政府有效性提供了新的视角。对中国国家建构的历史路径、中国政府能力基础的转换和中国政府运行惯例进行分析,旨在揭示中国政府能力转型发展的过程和动力机制。     

从死刑错案反观死刑案件中的刑事辩护——以五例典型的故意杀人罪死刑错案为样本

刑事辩护的价值在于均衡控辩双方的力量,从而查明案件,避免刑事错案。死刑案件的复杂性、重大性和死刑的不可撤销性,使得刑事辩护在死刑案件中具有举足轻重的意义。死刑错案是发现目前死刑案件中刑事辩护所存在问题的重要途径,对完善死刑案件刑事辩护制度也有重要价值。死刑案件辩护制度的改进方向应由＂有辩护＂转向＂有效辩护＂,而这需要通过设立死刑案件刑辩律师专门管理制度和特殊参与机制来予以实现。     

马克思世界历史理论:中国道路的一个解释框架

创造性地阐释当代中国所发生的深刻历史变革,要求我们发扬马克思现代性批判的精神传统,保持现代性文明自身发展的生命张力,发挥国家力量的政治优势和普遍权威,规约资本与劳动、文明与自然的矛盾冲突,构建财产权保护与法治自由的制度体系,把握批判与建构的双重逻辑,保持历史与伦理的内在张力,这是推进中国道路的基础性工程。马克思世界历史理论为我们深入理解和研究以市场法则、资本逻辑与财产权表达的内在统一为核心内容的中国道路,提供了一个基本的有生命力的哲学范式和阐释框架。     

中国的熟人社会与有组织犯罪的组织性特征

从公开数据可以看出,现阶段中国有组织犯罪成员以当地人为主,外地人所占比例受外来人口数量影响,成员之间关系多为熟人关系。之所以如此,原因在于长期以来中国是一个差序格局下的熟人社会。在此影响之下,现阶段中国有组织犯罪组织性表现出组织规模容易发展壮大,组织对外＂凝聚力＂相对较强,组织内部结构相对松散,组织的核心圈为当地人,外地人往往处于外层等特征。随着社会发展,中国正逐步由熟人社会向半熟人社会转变,有组织犯罪在未来则将出现组织严密性增强、组织人员组成越发复杂、核心圈和外层人员组成差异不再明显等趋势。有组织犯罪的这些组织性特征决定了对其必须＂打早打小＂。     

自贸区背景下公司最低注册资本制度

现行注册资本制度存在着债务担保功能虚化、公司信用基础扭曲和公司竞争能力受限等一系列问题,而上海自贸区正在进行大刀阔斧的改革,其中公司登记制度为自贸区试行重点之一,而其中公司最低注册资本问题是公司登记制度改革的基础。     

首都大周边社会维稳应急处置机制的构建

在国家经济转轨、社会转型的大背景下，各种社会矛盾凸现，影响安全稳定的不确定性因素日益增多，因此，需要从信息调控、组织协同、沟通交流、物质保障等四大机制建设出发，构建首都大周边社会维稳应急处置机制，及时化解各类不稳定因素，这不仅有利于为首都经济建设发展提供良好的社会环境．而且对维护首都乃至整个国家的长治久安具有重大意义。