Dear Friends:
This discussion of Japan is interesting and pertinent for the paper I am
writing. The abstract is appended below. I am interested in how
neo-liberalism is being internalized in Japan, knowing fully well that
Japanese social system is very different from the Anglo-Am one. As my
abstract suggests internalization of transnationalization is related to
embourgeoisment (there are various mechanisms by which this might take
place in different institutional settings) but with the Japanese case
still does not seem to fit this picture. Any leads?
Anthony
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Anthony P. D'Costa
Associate Professor Ph: (253) 692-4462
Comparative International Development Fax: (253) 692-5718
University of Washington Box Number: 358436
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
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The Internalization of "Failed States"
Transnationalization, State and Embourgeoisment
Anthony P. D'Costa
Associate Professor, Comparative International Development
University of Washington
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
E-mail:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax: (253) 692-5718
To be presented at "The Global Constitution of 'Failed States': The
Consequences of New Imperialism?", University of Sussex, 18-20, April,
2001.
Abstract
That states in the developing world have been over-extended is beyond a
shadow of doubt. Not only did they inherit economic and social structures
of colonial rule but they were also expected to reproduce liberal states
that could guarantee political democracy and foster economic development.
However, the logic of the market was not accepted by most late developers.
Governments in their quest to meet a wide array of demands for diverse
communities in post-colonial societies had to get involved with national
economic management. The Cold War was no help either, compelling
poverty-stricken states to spend money on defense that they did not have
and subjecting countries to adopt policies that could not be
institutionally supported. The intensification of global economic
interconnectedness since the 1970s has been another source of pressure on
the state. Transnational corporations, global financial institutions
imposing structural adjustment programs, rapid technological change, and
the hyper-mobility of finance capital have eroded the influence of states.
It is evident that the onslaught on post-colonial states has a very strong
external component. This paper, consistent with the basic tenet of the
global constitution of failed states, explores the myriad ways by which
the ideology of failed states is "internalized" by a growing middle class.
The external pressures emanating from the transnationalization of economic
activities are mediated through this class, relegating the state to the
dustbin of history.
By linking transnationalization of economic production and embourgeoisment
this paper brings the state back into the discussion, failed or not. In
fact the working of the internalization process suggests states to remain
important, if not central, to the two processes of transnationalization
and embourgeoisment. The story though familiar is not widely recognized.
Many post-colonial states have successfully altered the entrenched
colonial structure of production and trade and consequently created a
viable domestic bourgeoisie. The rise of a middle class with its
attendant consumerism, not coincidentally pushed by transnationalization
processes of production, trade, capital flows, migration, travel, among
others, is argued to drive the internalization process. As regulatory
states, often handicapped by patronage politics, are increasingly seen as
fetters to growth and consumption, vociferous calls are made for a
diminished role of the state. In tandem external pressures for the
withdrawal of the state mount as embourgeoisment promises new markets,
access to which is critical in the context of global excess capacity. To
capture lucrative markets foreign direct investment and technology
transfers become critical assets. With transnationalization some segments
of the local bourgeoisie join the transnational networks and begin to
erode the ideological basis for state intervention. The mantra of a
liberal economic order is echoed internally, thus contributing to the
externally-generated failed constitution of the state.
The aim of this project is to bring out this internalization process of a
globally-induced constitution of failed states. I briefly examine some of
the more successful states, such as Japan and Korea, which are being
forced to undertake the Anglo-American variety of economic restructuring.
In both cases internalization has to do with the acceptance (imposition)
of a global liberal-market system, pushed by transnational interests often
represented by the local bourgeoisie and state bureaucracy. As the rules
of transnational competition and practices become legitimized through the
imposition of western liberal values and neoclassical economic doctrine,
even historically strong states in periods of crisis are compelled to
rethink their role in economic governance. In the same vein India, one of
the last bastions of statism, is promulgating a neo-liberal order
consistent with the global constitution. The bulk of the paper will focus
on the internalization process by capturing the interaction between the
state's role in the embourgeoisment process and the increased
internationalization of the Indian economy via transnational linkages.
The insertion of the Indian bourgeoisie and professionals in transnational
networks suggest that internalization of the global constitution has its
home-grown base. By specifically examining the Indian software sector
this paper highlights not only how the Indian state is reinventing itself
but also how transnational networks and multinational practices contribute
to the idea of a "failed" state. As more and more software services are
exported to rich nations, questions about domestic development take a back
seat. Export growth and market efficiency are the buzz words as
transnational capital and its local allies pursue capital accumulation on
a grander scale, especially in the high- and information technology
sectors.
A number of conclusions regarding the global constitution of failed states
can be made: 1) if strong states, such as Japan and Korea, bear the brunt
of neo-liberalism, then what of those states that have been
institutionally weak? Are they not more likely to succumb to neo-liberal
demands or be left out of the orbit of global circuits of accumulation,
contributing to the real failure of states? 2) despite the intensity of
global interconnectedness, states still have room to manoeuver, so the
notion of "failure" as internally constituted must be re-assessed; 3)
multinational practices and other external forces continue to have an
eroding effect on states as the structure of the world economy continues
to privilege those that dictate the neo-liberal order.
