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Shadow State: The Politics of State Capture
A powerful analysis of events that helped galvanise resistance across civil society
The 2017 publication of Betrayal of the Promise, the report that detailed the systematic nature of state capture, marked a key moment in South Africa’s most recent struggle for democracy. In the face of growing evidence of corruption and of the weakening of state and democratic institutions, it provided, for the first time, a powerful analysis of events that helped galvanise resistance within the Tripartite Alliance and across civil society. Working often secretly, the authors consolidated, for the first time, large amounts of evidence from a variety of sources. They showed that the Jacob Zuma administration was not simply a criminal network but part of an audacious political project to break the hold of whites and white business on the economy and to create a new class of black industrialists. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) such as Eskom and Transnet were central to these plans.
The report introduced a whole new language to discuss state capture, showing how SOEs were ‘repurposed’, how political power was shifting away from constitutional bodies to ‘kitchen cabinets’, and how a ‘shadow state’ at odds with the country’s constitutional framework was being built. Shadow State is an updated version of the original, explosive report that changed South Africa’s recent history.
The 2017 publication of Betrayal of the Promise, the report that detailed the systematic nature of state capture, marked a key moment in South Africa’s most recent struggle for democracy. In the face of growing evidence of corruption and of the weakening of state and democratic institutions, it provided, for the first time, a powerful analysis of events that helped galvanise resistance within the Tripartite Alliance and across civil society. Working often secretly, the authors consolidated, for the first time, large amounts of evidence from a variety of sources. They showed that the Jacob Zuma administration was not simply a criminal network but part of an audacious political project to break the hold of whites and white business on the economy and to create a new class of black industrialists. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) such as Eskom and Transnet were central to these plans.
The report introduced a whole new language to discuss state capture, showing how SOEs were ‘repurposed’, how political power was shifting away from constitutional bodies to ‘kitchen cabinets’, and how a ‘shadow state’ at odds with the country’s constitutional framework was being built. Shadow State is an updated version of the original, explosive report that changed South Africa’s recent history.
- GenresSouth Africa
186 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2018
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September 3, 2018
This is another must read for citizens of South Africa.
This book, a follow-up on the authors’ groundbreaking 2017 report entitled “The Betrayal of the Promise”, is nothing less than spine-chilling.
The political agenda behind State Capture needed to be analysed and exposed, and this book does a really good job of it.
Our country was hijacked by greedy and politically malignant actors within the ANC, and the fight-back against this cabal has only just begun.
Beyond investigating and bringing the crooks to justice, a new political compact will need to be established in order for our country to survive.
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.
This book, a follow-up on the authors’ groundbreaking 2017 report entitled “The Betrayal of the Promise”, is nothing less than spine-chilling.
The political agenda behind State Capture needed to be analysed and exposed, and this book does a really good job of it.
Our country was hijacked by greedy and politically malignant actors within the ANC, and the fight-back against this cabal has only just begun.
Beyond investigating and bringing the crooks to justice, a new political compact will need to be established in order for our country to survive.
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.
Displaying 1 of 1 review