National Neodevelopmentalist Models in South America

Abstract

There is growing evidence of convergence around political economies of ‘neodevelopmentalism’ in the states of South America in the post-neoliberal era (e.g. Ban 2013; Burges 2007; Grugel and Rigirozzi 2012; Morais and Saad-Filho 2012; The Economist 2012, January 21st–27th; Wylde 2012). Reflecting this, a special report by The Economist (2012 January 21st–27th) identified the South American region, alongside China and Russia, as areas within the global political economy where a new and highly sophisticated model of ‘state capitalism’, one focused on the emerging economies, was not only taking hold but being consolidated against a backdrop of crisis in the OECD. A more recent report by The Economist (2013 October 12th–18th) has reflected on how the new state capitalism is transforming rather than challenging globalisation through strategically informed, developmentally driven, negotiation, often from a new position of relative strength and leverage evident in the sophisticated gate keeping strategies of the rising state capitalist states. The future predicted by The Economist was therefore not deglobalisation, led by southern-centric autonomy, as advocated by some radicals (e.g. Bello 2009) but rather ‘gated globalisation’ increasingly structured by the newfound leverage enjoyed by southern developers.