The Reconfiguration of the Global State–Capital Nexus

Abstract

Noting an apparent 'return' of the state this article analyzes the rearticulation of state -capital relations in the context of the current global crisis. Departing from the notion that capital and state are internally related, we distinguish four roles that the state can play with respect to capital accumulation and on that basis examine to what extent and how the statecapital nexus is reconfigured in both the global South and global North. We argue that in spite of a more activist role of the state in the latter and the rise of globalizing yet state-led accumulation strategies in the former, the globalizing dynamic of capital and the concomitant deepening commodification go on unabated. The 'rebound of the state' that is the focus of this special issue is thus seen as instrumental to an ongoing globalization of capital, notwithstanding significant power shifts arising out of this contradictory process.

Exporting stimulus and “shared prosperity”: Reinventing foreign aid for a retroliberal era

“…Clearly, the renewed and expanded focus on private sector-led strategies for "development" may indeed produce improvements in "headline" growth figures in both donor and partner countries. However, the evidence to date suggests that the overwhelming beneficiaries of this growth are, or are likely to be, corporate elites, with much lower guaranteed-and in some cases negative-outcomes for ordinary taxpayers, workers and citizens (ActionAid, 2014). A detailed review of private sector-led development partnerships, programmes and strategies across the OECD-DAC donor community reveals very little mention of decent work (labour terms and conditions), local ownership, directing investment to where it is needed rather than where it provides the best return, reducing risk and exposure to financial volatility, and only tokenistic commitments to partner country SMEs (Tomlinson, 2012).…”

“…Retroliberalism then recreates elements of both classical liberalism and neoliberalism with the intention of perpetuating cycles of private capital accumulation. Furthermore, under the retroliberal regime, the pursuit of selfinterest is enacted by a state-corporate nexus, that exports the stimulus packages under the guise of "shared prosperity" (Apeldoorn, de Graaff, & Overbeek, 2012).…”

State capitalism(s) redux? Theories, tensions, controversies

“…4. To be clear, the conceptualization of state-capital hybrid proposed here significantly differs from the 'state-capital nexus' of van Apeldoorn et al (2012), which refers to the deep structural entanglement between state and capital in capitalist societies. By contrast, by state-capital hybrids we refer to the concrete historically and geographically specific political forms taken by this general relation.…”

“…While our understanding of the state is informed in part by historical materialism, our purpose here is not to advocate for a particular theory over others. Rather, we want to highlight that, with very few exceptions (e.g van Apeldoorn et al, 2012),. the state capitalism literature does not feature such theory and relies instead on other ways of defining strong state intervention.…”

Dr. Brasilia and Mr. Nacala: The Apparent Duality Behind the Brazilian State-Capital Nexus

“…At first, Brasilia (intended as the government) utilized its authority to create, correct and direct the internal market, and has recently entered the last of the four phases of capitalist state production as identified by Van Apeldoorn et al (2012), a phase where national and international prerogatives are deployed to internationalizes capital (Cox, 1987) through 'external mercantile representation' (Gerstenberger, 1973).…”