Neoliberalism and the State of Belonging in South Africa

by Derick A. Becker

Overview

This book explains the making of the South African state and thereby contributes to the development theory by analyzing the concept of the embedded neoliberal state. The author offers a theoretical exploration of state formation as an inherently interconnected international and domestic social process as applied to the history and development of South Africa. A genuine social science that eschews disciplinary boundaries, this will appeal to a wide audience of scholars in the fields of political development, political science, African and development studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030399306
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	02/18/2020
Edition description:	1st ed. 2020
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Derick A. Becker is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: There Is No Alternative: Globalization and Post-Apartheid South Africa.- 2. No Island Unto Itself: Spatial Performativity and Production of the State.- 3. The Meaning of Belonging: Race and the Making of South Africa.- 4. The Politics of Discontent and the Early State: On the Origins and Death of Apartheid.- 5. A State in Transition: The Negotiated Birth of the Post-Apartheid State.- 6. On the State of Belonging: What a Theory of Space Tells Us About Neoliberalism and Apartheid in Contemporary South Africa.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

‘This book takes a deep dive into South African history and state theory to understand the nature and continuing production of that country’s state. Becker demonstrates both the univeralising thrust of neoliberalism and its embeddedness in South Africa, with powerful effect.’
—Padraig Carmody, Associate Professor in Geography at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa​

‘This fascinating study utilizes the work of Henri Lefebvre on space to contextualize and understand state formation in the case of South Africa. This book refreshingly engages both the internal and external processes integral to the formation of the South African state over time, and provides an incisive analysis of the embedded neoliberal state.’

—Brent Steele, Professor and Francis D. Wormuth Presidential Chair, Political Science Department, University of Utah, USA