State Capitalism Research Articles

China as a laboratory to renegotiate globalization: Statecraft through the selective exclusion of foreign capital

Building on Ilias Alami's invitation to reconceptualize foreign investment screening mechanisms as state tools for renegotiating (post)globalization, this commentary mobilizes China's historical engagement with foreign capital, positioning it as a ‘laboratory’ for rethinking statecraft amid the transformations of global capitalism. By tracing the genealogy of selective regulatory practices – including the establishment of special economic zones – this analysis underscores how China's ‘exceptional spaces’ and ‘exceptional legal forms’ have actively reshaped globalization through the strategic exclusion of foreign capital from critical national sectors. Moving beyond reductionist framings of ‘state capitalism’ and ‘globalization’, the commentary foregrounds the layered and contingent processes of valorization and accumulation that characterize contemporary capitalist globalization.

644. Impact of COVID-19 on Tuberculosis Control and Surveillance: An 11-Year Retrospective Analysis in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract Background Non-pharmacological measures to control the spread of COVID-19 imposed severe restrictions on citizens' mobility and prioritized access to health equipment for serious and emergency cases. These measures limited contact opportunities for patients within tuberculosis surveillance systems, reduced access to antimicrobial therapy, and increased the risk of disease transmission during mandatory confinements, exposing vulnerable populations. Studies indicate that, both in Brazil and globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly set back the fight against TB, affecting early diagnosis and access to health equipment. This setback is reflected in Brazil's first increase in TB mortality since 2005. We present the TB incidence over eleven years (2013-2023), analyzing factors associated to TB cure in a public reference hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.Figure 1Incidence Rate of Respiratory Tuberculosis (2013-2023) at a Reference Public Hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil: The incidence nearly doubled in the post-pandemic period (2022-2023) compared to the historical period, with rates rising from 8.6 to approximately 15 cases per 10,000 hospital and outpatient admissions. Incidence Rate of Respiratory Tuberculosis (2013-2023) at a Reference Public Hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil: The incidence nearly doubled in the post-pandemic period (2022-2023) compared to the historical period, with rates rising from 8.6 to approximately 15 cases per 10,000 hospital and outpatient admissions. Methods Retrospective observational study to conduct TB surveillance over an 11-year period (Jan/2013 to Dec/2023). Data were collected from a public reference hospital in Belo Horizonte city, Brazil. Monthly incidence rates were calculated using the number of TB cases as the numerator and the total number of hospital and outpatient admissions as the denominator. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with TB cure.Figure 2Probability of TB Cure and Risk of Death: Excluding TB patients who abandoned treatment, were transferred to other hospitals, or are still under treatment, the analysis shows a 72% probability of TB cure. Probability of TB Cure and Risk of Death: Excluding TB patients who abandoned treatment, were transferred to other hospitals, or are still under treatment, the analysis shows a 72% probability of TB cure. Results From 2013 to 2021, TB incidence was stable; however, after 2021, there was a subtle but noticeable increase in incidence (Fig. 1). A sample of 94 TB patients that has a complete defined outcome, i.e., cure or death due to TB, was retrieved from the database: 68 was completed cured (72%; Fig. 2). In the multivariate analysis, four factors were associated with TB cure: Age , Patient from Belo Horizonte city (capital of Minas Gerais State), New case of tuberculosis, and Directly Observed Treatment Administered (Fig. 3). The ROC analysis of the logistic model demonstrated good predictive accuracy (Fig. 4).Figure 3Logistic Regression Model of TB Treatment Success: Age as a Risk Factor for Treatment Failure, while Residence in the State Capital (Belo Horizonte), Being a New (Acute) TB Case, and Receiving Directly Observed Treatment are Protective Factors for TB Cure. Logistic Regression Model of TB Treatment Success: Age as a Risk Factor for Treatment Failure, while Residence in the State Capital (Belo Horizonte), Being a New (Acute) TB Case, and Receiving Directly Observed Treatment are Protective Factors for TB Cure. Conclusion The micro-level analysis of TB cases at a single public hospital likely reflects the broader trends observed across the state of Minas Gerais. The post-COVID era presents significant challenges for managing numerous diseases, particularly tuberculosis. Implementing Directly Observed Treatmen is essential for achieving successful outcomes in TB treatment.Figure 4ROC Analysis of the Logistic Model: Area Under the ROC Curve = 0.90, Indicating Good Predictive Accuracy. ROC Analysis of the Logistic Model: Area Under the ROC Curve = 0.90, Indicating Good Predictive Accuracy. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Economy and state: The politics of citizenship and universality in Gillian Rose, Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg

This article examines Gillian Rose's understanding of the relationship between universality and diremption in the capitalist economy and the capitalist state. Adopting Rose's triadic discussion in The Broken Middle, I contrast her thought with Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg. Rose's investigation of the ‘political diremption’ of the modern state is conducted via a critical appraisal of Arendt's oeuvre. While Arendt is one of the most celebrated thinkers today, Rose's analysis has been virtually ignored. Strikingly, Rose makes a novel distinction between the problematic of diremption between economy and state in Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism and the idealism of The Human Condition. Rose argues that Arendt's shift is ahistorical and betrays the radical potential of her best insights. This critique helps assess current debates over universal human rights and the relation between the capitalist economy and nation-state. Identifying the exclusions of citizenship, Rose advances a politics of universal freedom from ‘the broken middle’.

Communist Disinformation Campaigns and the Latin American Cold War of the 1960s: The Case of the Uruguayan Newspaper Época

Abstract Based on declassified documents from the archives of the Czechoslovak intelligence agency (StB) and the contemporary press, this article delves into the working mechanisms of the Communist secret services in Latin America in the 1960s. Specifically, focusing on the case of the newspaper Época, it deals with the production of articles aimed at discrediting the capitalist states and their publication in the press through local collaborators. The link between the StB and the Uruguayan newspaper, which claimed to be politically and economically independent, was pragmatic and, for a time, helped both parties to achieve their political ends. While the StB managed to obtain a space where it could carry out its operations, Época's motivations were not only ideological but also economic and related to the urgent desire of the non-Communist Left to get funding for its political activities.

Settlement of Land Acquisition Disputes for the Nusantara Capital City on Former Sultan Grant Land

The construction of the Nusantara State Capital at the Sepaku Semoi Dam site triggered a land dispute due to a lawsuit filed by Prince Hario Adiningrat, who claimed to have rights over the land acquisition object and felt aggrieved because he was not recognized as an entitled party to receive compensation. This research aims to analyze the causes of the dispute and the resolution process. The research method used is sociological juridical with data collection techniques through interviews. The research's results indicate that the land dispute was caused by the issuance of the East Kalimantan Governor’s Decree Number 590/K.653/2019 regarding the Determination of the Land Acquisition Location for the Construction of the Sepaku Semoi Dam. The decree was deemed detrimental to Prince Hario’s rights as his name was not listed as a recipient of compensation. Furthermore, the dispute was triggered by contradictions and inconsistencies in the applicable land law regulations. The resolution of the dispute was pursued through litigation in the General Court by filing a lawsuit at the Penajam District Court, Case Number 64/Pdt.G/2020/PN Pnj, and in the Administrative Court by filing a lawsuit at the Samarinda State Administrative Court, Case Number 38/G/2021/PTUN.SMD. The implications of this research highlight the importance of revisiting land acquisition regulations to ensure the protection of the rights of parties potentially disadvantaged in strategic national development processes.

Moneylending or financial service: the politics of regulating microfinance in India

ABSTRACT The Andhra Crisis of 2010 is well known as a critical juncture for microfinance as borrowers were coerced and reportedly committed suicide due to repayment pressures. This presented a regulatory challenge to the Indian state: was microfinance ‘moneylending’ or ‘financial services’ and how was it to be regulated? Scholarship on state capitalism highlights new responsibilities taken on by states by participating in financial markets. In contrast, postcolonial studies show how the neoliberal postcolonial state actively hands over key responsibilities to private actors. By bringing in the concept (and practices) of the developmental state, I show how multiple levels of state authority present both neoliberal and developmental approaches to state-finance relations. Drawing on multi-scalar fieldwork with central and state institutions in India, this paper highlights central institutions’ neoliberal logics for classifying microfinance as a ‘financial service’ contra state-level institutions’ developmental prescription to classify it as ‘moneylending’. Ultimately, the regulatory challenge is resolved by instating self-regulation for the sector. This shows how despite contestations, financial services that target low-income groups can reshape state authority, regulation and accountability and align these with market logics.

Statism and state activism in response to China’s belt and Road Initiative: Indonesia and Malaysia’s approaches to developing the EV sector

How have the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)’s host countries employed state capitalism to pursue global value chain (GVC) integration? This article answers this question by analyzing cases of electric vehicle GVCs in Indonesia and Malaysia. Employing qualitative and quantitative data, the discussion unpacks how the BRI generates opportunities for activist states to channel new capital and technologies toward national strategic economic outcomes. In Indonesia, President Widodo’s state capitalism efforts employed Chinese investments to bring new smelting and refining technologies to restructure and industrialize the country’s mineral sector. As a result, Indonesia has become a leading nickel-processing destination for stainless steel production and, more recently, for electric vehicle batteries. Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has directed investments toward green energy and smart manufacturing, which resulted in the brokerage of a pivotal car manufacturing joint venture. Both countries employed a mix of statism and state activism to partake in the emerging GVCs connected to the electric vehicle sector, with Indonesia preferring the former by primarily employing industrial policy interventions to prioritize private sector investments, while Malaysia predilected hybrid forms of state and private sector coordination. Overall, the results show that industrial policies and Chinese investments have brought opportunities but also unintended development outcomes.

Back to class? The populism of the ‘Gilets jaunes’

ABSTRACT Mobilizing Laclau’s earlier conceptualization of populism as the politicization of class struggle and its overlap with Poulantzas’ relational theory of the capitalist state, this paper proposes to see populism as the struggle for the reconstitution of popular and class antagonisms, and as partly determined by anti-populism – concerned with the repression of these antagonisms. I use Michael Bray’s account of populism as a ‘symptom’ of repressed class antagonisms to argue that the relations structuring the capitalist state both determine populism and are rendered visible through populism. I present the Gilets jaunes protests (2018–2019) as a case in point not only of the populist struggle for unveiling such relations, but also of the anti-populist efforts at keeping them invisible – reminiscent of Poulantzas’ identification of the construction of a ‘people-nation’, the atomization of the body-politic, and the separation between mental and manual labor as the key mechanisms ensuring the reproduction of the capitalist state.

Vaccine hesitancy and consequences for vaccination coverage in children at 24 months of age, born in 2017-2018, living in the state capitals, Federal District and 12 inner region cities of Brazil.

To analyze vaccine hesitancy associated factors and repercussions on vaccination coverage. Cohort of children born in 2017-2018, living in Brazilian state capitals, Federal District (FD), and 12 inner region cities, stratified by socioeconomic level. National Vaccination Coverage Survey (2020) data on hesitancy, access and programmatic difficulties were obtained by interview and coverage was calculated from vaccination card dose and date records. 37801 children were studied, 31001 in the capitals/FD, 6800 in the inner cities. Hesitation between 38.8(95%CI 33.6;44.4) and 57.9(95%CI 54.1;61.6) in high versus low stratum; 64.1(95%CI 58.9;68.9) to 41.7(95%CI 38.4;45.8) among mothers with <8 years of schooling versus 16 years or more; 42.1(95%CI 38.2;46.2) to 55.0(95%CI 52.0;54.7) among private service users versus public service only users. Coverage: full=7.2(95%CI 1.0;38.3); 25.3(95%CI 18.7;33.3) for hesitant people; and 44.7(95%CI 43.0;46.4) for the remainder. High vaccine hesitancy in several groups affecting vaccination coverage and hindering vaccination target achievement. Access problems and programmatic difficulties contribute to low coverage.

The politicisation of vaccines and its influence on Brazilian caregivers' opinions on childhood routine vaccination.

Progressive declines in vaccination coverage have been recorded in Brazil in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced even more challenges to this scenario. Considering the pandemic as an event, the scope of this article was to analyze the politicization of vaccines from the perspective of caregivers of young children. This qualitative research was conducted in two Brazilian state capitals, namely São Luís (Maranhão) and Florianópolis (Santa Catarina). The study included families with children up to 6 years of age who were fully or partially vaccinated, as well as children who had never been vaccinated. Snowball sampling was used and in-depth interviews were conducted between March 2021 and April 2022. Forty-eight caregivers, most of them mothers, were interviewed. The study revealed that, regardless of their previous stance regarding vaccines, the health-political event of the COVID-19 pandemic shook beliefs and attitudes about childhood vaccination. The results also showed that the pandemic led to delays in routine childhood immunization and caused caregivers to seek private health services. Finally, the results reveal the politicization of vaccines as a new phenomenon to be addressed in the Brazilian context.

Gifts and Bribes as Reflections of the Diplomatic Image of the First Saudi State during the Latter Half of the 18th and Early 19th Centuries

Gifts, as a distinct historical reflection of time and space, have drawn the attention of the social sciences and humanities for many centuries. As unique examples, they speak not only about the giver but also about the recipient. Their presence reflects the political and economic landscape, as well as the diplomatic skills practiced during that period. Exactly through this prism, the author explores the gifts received and given under specific circumstances related to various events in Dirʿiyyah, the capital of the first Saudi State, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. By analyzing these gifts, the study uncovers the diplomatic prowess and relationship of the authorities in Dirʿiyyah with the Ottoman sultan, as well as the economic power, political independence, and adept diplomacy of the ruling Saud family.

Marx and Engels on prisons and capitalism

This paper rethinks Marx and Engels’ comments on imprisonment and capitalism. While there has been a tendency to suggest the authors’ comments on crime and punishment were peripheral and secondary to their major projects, such as Marx’s Capital, this paper claims, in fact, their writings on incarceration were guided by their shared theoretical project which included historicizing systems of punishment as correlating with modes of production. Also, while more has been written on their ideas of criminality, instead, this paper excavates their thoughts on prisons, which have often been neglected. Overall, it shows there has been a tendency to underestimate the ways the authors viewed prisons as an important disciplinary mechanism for class control, and a part of the capitalist state more generally. Their work provides an important conceptual foundation for critical sociological perspectives on incarceration.

Cities under state capitalism

State interventions in urban development and planning are not new to state capitalism, even though intensifying ‘muscular’ state responses to urban challenges can now be observed across the entire geopolitical and urban landscape. This viewpoint explores this intensifying connection between state capitalism, the capitalist state and urban governance. It argues that for strategic geopolitical and economic reasons states increasingly govern, regulate, manage and own parts of the urban built environment. However, regulatory intervention in the city cannot be mistaken for a return to the post-war development state which strongly focused on promoting spatial development and industrial policy and protecting social welfarism and labour conditions. Rather, the new state capitalism is about proactive market intervention so that states and their partners can profit from the growth, wealth and revenue that cities have to offer. As for that, this commentary concludes with four avenues for future research at the boundaries of state capitalism and urban governance. Examples from cities in the Global North, Global South and Global East are given to illustrate the broader argument. Shifting geopolitics are also discussed as a driver of state rescaling and reterritorialisation.

Geo-Spatial Analysis of Road Networks and Infrastructural Facilities in Osogbo Osun State Nigeria

The global urban development and transportation networks indicate the astrometric increase of people living in the cities. Living in an urban location becomes challenging due to this pattern, which puts strain on traffic flow. The concern has begun to show its ugly face in Osogbo City, the state capital of Osun. The study employs fundamental information techniques of network analysis and spatial modeling to identify nearest and shortest routes to different locations of infrastructural facilities in Osogbo. This study employed the Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) to create the network map that served as the foundation for the main analyses. Satellite imagery and the GPS coordinates of location of major infrastructural facilities in Osogbo were collected and analyzed. Key players impacting the identification and modeling of current road networks for a spatial database were identified. Findings revealed the closest infrastructural facilities within the city. With this knowledge, drivers and commuters will be able to choose their routes during peak traffic times with reason. This can be used to control traffic congestion by using the shortest and alternative routes. The study demonstrates that, when constructed on a well-designed database that is also susceptible to regular updates, GIS is a true instrument that can be utilized to maintain an uninterrupted traffic flow in Osogbo city. The study suggests that to track traffic congestion in the city, a GIS framework should be implemented in addition to current traffic management strategies.

About the Second Koguryo Capital

The article discusses the current issue of studying the second capital of the early medieval state of Koguryo. It reviews and generalizes the limited and somewhat outdated Russian historiography on the topic. In order to reveal the unique features of the capital during the middle period, key Korean and Chinese written and epigraphic sources were examined and analyzed. According to the written data of the “Samguk Sagi”, the existence of the second capital is connected to the period between 3–427 AD. Information regarding the location of the capital remains unclear until the end of the Koguryo period and is only revealed in the subsequent Bohai period. The analysis of written sources is complemented by archaeological data of the ancient Guonei city and Wandu Mountain City located in the Jilin province of China, which correlate with the capital’s sites. Guonei city located in modern Jian city was a large centre; the perimeter of the walls was approximately 2.74 kilometres. In the central part, buildings correlating to administrative or palace buildings were excavated. At the nearby Wandu Mountain City, the perimeter of the walls was approximately 7 kilometres, and a large palace complex stretching over four terraces was discovered. Archaeological information indicates a different time period of the capital as a fortified city, and confirms its functioning as a centre of the district and Huanzhou county throughout the Bohai period. It is believed that initially, the Koguryo leader established a military headquarters in a hard-to-reach mountain valley near Yalu river, which evolved into a big administrative and political centre as the state developed. Further archaeological surveys are needed in the Koguryo capital area to establish a detailed chronology and better understand the futures of the Koguryo capital, and to further explore the connection between archaeology and early chronicle information.

The National Security State and the Tech City: Social Structures of Militarisation in Seattle's Long Cold War

AbstractIntegration between the American state and technology capital has deep roots in the military‐industrial complex that has structured the US geopolitical economy since World War II. This article makes the case for understanding the urban‐regional dimensions of technology capital in terms of a transformation of, rather than as a departure from, Cold War geopolitics. It introduces the concept of a social structure of militarisation to analyse the transition from military‐Keynesianism to tech‐oriented militarism, developing this concept through a case study of high‐tech firms in the Seattle region. Our analysis shows how the class dynamics that underpinned the growth of Seattle's “high‐tech” aerospace sector in the postwar period conditioned the subsequent growth of the information and biotechnology sectors. Like other tech cities, Seattle's economy remains a privileged site of technical and managerial labour within the extended US national security state.

Landscapes of state capitalism: Reconciling the vernacular, national development imaginaries, and green capital accumulation

This article theorizes ‘state capitalist landscapes’ as a unique spatial form shaped by state‐owned developers that reconcile economic goals with national development imperatives and symbolic national imaginaries. State capitalist landscapes, I argue, integrate economically productive spaces with natural spaces to symbolize imaginaries of the nation. Through an inductive case study methodology, this article surveys three industrial zones developed and/or under development by state owned developers: Singapore's Jurong, China's Xiong’an New Area, and Thailand's Wangchan Valley. In each of these cases, natural landscapes are integrated into new economic zones in order to construct specific symbolic and/or political imaginaries of the nation: Singapore's ‘garden city’, China's ‘ecological civilization’, and in Thailand the ‘sufficiency economy’. By bringing together work on ‘infrastructural landscapes’ and ‘state capitalism’ this paper provides a concrete material perspective to contemporary discussions of state capitalism, while also bringing more grounded, political and institutional perspectives to landscape infrastructure studies, which has tended to set aside discussions of institutional forms or national political dynamics in a focus on form and materiality of infrastructure landscapes worldwide.

A pharmaceutical policy accident: collision of shareholder capitalism and Chinese state capitalism driving the shortage of an essential antibiotic.

An explosion in a Chinese factory in 2016 caused a global shortage of essential broad-spectrum antibiotic piperacillin-tazobactam. Hitherto, no detailed, policy-relevant analysis has been conducted on this major shortage event. Thus, we aimed to (1) investigate causes; (2) describe supply chain challenges; and (3) uncover policy gaps to support possible mitigation actions. Applying an analytical framework for security of medical supply chains, we investigated the changing roles of Pfizer-led and Chinese API suppliers. We identified demand surge, capacity reduction and co-ordination failures. Triangulating between scientific literature, corporate, and regulatory documents, we analysed the impact of Western and Chinese policy contexts on supply chain resilience. We uncovered 'red flags': geographically dispersed manufacturing failures due to complexity of sterile production; undetected supply chain concentration and interlinkages; and Chinese policy-led API supplier consolidation. We found these warning signals were ignored in the absence of a co-ordinated policy framework to identify and mitigate emerging global supply risks. Firstly, policy makers lacked visibility on growing 'volume dependency' in the chain. Secondly, national policy makers lacked a global view of supply risk. Thirdly, we show antibiotic API manufacturing economics were impacted by a number of non-pharmaceutical policy decisions (e.g. state aid, environmental standards, procurement rules) which contributed to supply chain vulnerability. Our findings suggest possible policy gaps in governance of supply chain resilience. Firstly, disclosure of API suppliers including degree of dependency may better pre-empt bottlenecks, facilitating priority setting for public investments in re-shoring where global API supply currently relies on few, or single plants; secondly, a whole-of-government approach may counter the potential impact of non-pharmaceutical policies on supply chain resilience. Our findings confirm suggestions from previous studies that international data sharing would be beneficial considering the global shortage effects which can emerge from a single point of failure.

How Should We Distribute Education in Property-Owning Democracy and Liberal Socialism?

AbstractWelfare capitalism is going through a deep crisis, and alternative models to welfare state capitalism such as liberal socialism and property-owning democracy are once again becoming prominent in public debates. The aim in this article is to compare the merits and the limits of liberal socialism and of property-owning democracy through the specific case of the distribution of educational capital, by comparing two educational systems: the Pay It Forward (PIF) system and the Tax-subsidy scheme (TS) system. Based on the analysis of these two educational systems, we provide three arguments in favor of liberal socialist institutions in general and the PIF educational system in particular: (1) the individual common assets argument, (2) the principle of reciprocity argument, and (3) the predistribution argument.

The Peritubercle Lucency Sign as a Considerable Predictive Factor for Contralateral Hip Slippage in Unilateral Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis Cases.

Objective To determine whether the radiographic parameter at the epiphyseal tubercle region (peritubercle lucency sign) on the unaffected side can predict slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients who received an initial diagnosis of unilateral SCFE between 1995 and 2020 at a pediatric hospital in a Brazilian state's capital. The patients were monitored for at least 18 months. Two reviewers independently and blindly assessed the radiographs for the presence or absence of the sign. Disagreements were resolved by a third senior reviewer. Results Out of the 115 cases reviewed, the peritubercle lucency sign was observed in 21 of the 30 patients who developed the disease in the contralateral hip. The sign was observed on an average of 21 days after the diagnosis on the initial side, and approximately 301 days prior to the condition affecting the contralateral hip. It was present in 95% and 85% of the cases on the lateral (frog-leg) and anteroposterior (AP) views, respectively. Interobserver reliability was measured using the Kappa test (k = 0.0801). There was a significant relationship between the presence of the sign and SCFE ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: We propose that the peritubercle lucency sign can be used as a supplementary tool in early diagnosis, for it is beneficial in the therapeutic planning. Level Of Evidence: Level III - Diagnostic Study In Nonconsecutive Patients (Without Consistently Applied 'Gold Standard' As Reference).