Between Globalisation and (Post) Apartheid: The Political Economy of Restructuring in South Africa

Abstract

Whereas most countries in Southern Africa have experienced globalisation as externally imposed, in South Africa it has been largely internally generated by the state and the major business groups that dominate the economy. This paper examines the political economy of restructuring in South Africa, focusing particularly on the statist and capitalist logics of globalisation, and how they intersect. It explains how the South African state is trying to negotiate globalisation, and why major South African conglomerates have moved their headquarters to Britain. The impacts on employment and economic diversification of increasing globalisation from the 'outside in' are explored. As a result of the restructuring of globalisation, the South African state is increasingly characterised by 'negative autonomy' from domestic social forces and embeddedness with transnational capital, which undermine the potential for a national developmental project. South Africa's experience has important implications for globalisation theory, which can inform praxis. The article concludes by suggesting ways the political economy might be progressively restructured.