Why 'Anglo licks the ANC's boots': Globalization and state-capital relations in South Africa

Abstract

Under what conditions does capital in the age of globalization accept state regulation of markets instead of exercising its 'exit option' and shifting assets to less restrictive markets' This article explores this question by analysing local and foreign capital's compliance with the South African government's policy of seeking to transfer 25 - 30 percent of equity and management in white-owned companies to blacks in all sectors of the economy by 2014. This is part of government's overall policy of black economic empowerment (BEE) to foster the emergence of a black capital-owning class. The article argues that the relative vulnerability of states and markets to globalization pressures compels states and markets to reach a 'fateful compromise' that enhances state autonomy to regulate markets while also advancing the interests of capital. © The Author [2008]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal African Society. All rights reserved.