A Tale of a Rentier Social Contract and Diminishing Economic Rents: Multinationalism and Resource-Seeking Capital in Contemporary Africa

Sikanyiso Masuku
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Abstract

Abstract The invisible hand of private global enterprises in the political and economic landscape of Africa’s rentier states best exemplifies the extent to which Multinational Corporations (MNCs) now personify the variant/competing strategic resource-seeking interests of two fronts, i.e., (i) the emerging economy MNCs [BRICS nations, with China and Russia in particular] and (ii) the EU (European Union) and North American states. We have also seen from these fronts, a growing prioritization of economic/political hegemonies over mutually-beneficial bilateral relationships that ensure shared economic development and stability (with respect to ideals, such as good governance, human rights, and democracy) in the Global South. Inadvertently, this has emboldened the proliferation of oligarchs and shadow states whose resilience is contingent upon the existence of autocratic infrastructure, inequality, and a shrinking democratic space. In rentier states, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), positive spillovers (in both development and economic terms) have been dwindling—notwithstanding the ubiquity of private global enterprises therein. Using the Rentier State theory and the Agency thesis, the article explores the operations of MNCs in Africa. Through a content analysis of literature on global capital, institutions, and the role of multinationals in resource rich states, the article focuses on the DRC to highlight what we know and do not know on the negative side of globalization. Some of the negative outcomes of the unregulated power of private global enterprises (as discussed in the article) include their involvement in electoral process interferences, authoritarian collaborations, the establishment of oligopolies, shadow states, etc., to the detriment of equitable development (within rentier states), and a salience of inequities within the global natural resource trade.
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租金社会契约与经济租金递减的故事:当代非洲的多元民族主义与资源寻求资本
非洲食利国政治和经济格局中全球私营企业的“看不见的手”最好地体现了跨国公司(MNCs)在多大程度上代表了两条战线的不同/竞争战略资源寻求利益,即(i)新兴经济体跨国公司(金砖国家,特别是中国和俄罗斯)和(ii)欧盟(欧盟)和北美国家。我们还从这些方面看到,经济/政治霸权日益优先于确保全球南方共同经济发展和稳定(在良好治理、人权和民主等理想方面)的互利双边关系。不经意间,这助长了寡头和影子国家的扩散,这些国家的恢复能力取决于专制基础设施、不平等和不断缩小的民主空间的存在。在像刚果民主共和国这样的食利国,积极的溢出效应(在发展和经济方面)一直在减少——尽管那里的全球私营企业无处不在。本文运用食利国理论和代理理论对跨国公司在非洲的经营进行了研究。通过对全球资本、制度和跨国公司在资源丰富国家中的作用的文献进行内容分析,本文将重点放在刚果民主共和国,以突出我们对全球化消极方面的了解和不了解。私营全球企业不受监管的权力(如文中所述)的一些负面结果包括它们参与选举过程干预、威权合作、寡头垄断的建立、影子国家等,损害了公平发展(在食利国内部),以及全球自然资源贸易中的不平等现象的突出。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
2.00
自引率
8.30%
发文量
7
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