Beyond crony capitalism: financialization, flexible actors and private power in transition economies—the case of Agrokor

Abstract

In this article, we provide a critique of the concept of crony capitalism as the dominant explanation of change in economies in transition-based as it is on an idealized technocratic representation of ‘free markets’. We do this through an analysis of the fall of the Croatian company Agrokor, one of the most important companies in post-socialist Southeast Europe. The Agrokor case allows for an understanding of state-economy restructurings in times of crisis, and the competing temporalities and rhythms of corporate practices, political interventions and public perceptions. Agrokor can be considered as a symbol of many of the unfolding contradictions of transnational capitalism in the semi-periphery. The nature of Agrokor’s demise is understood as a result of the hyper-financialization of the firm and the rise of transnational predatory finance. The translation of liquidity and debt crises into a fundamental restructuring of the conglomerate, ushering in a shift in power and control, is the product of active work by a range of agents and an attempted resolution, partial and unfinished, of a struggle for dominance between fractions of capital.