Neoliberalism and the State of Belonging in South Africa

 ‘This book takes a deep dive into South African history and state theory to understand the nature and continuing production of that country’s state. Becker demonstrates both the univeralising thrust of neoliberalism and its embeddedness in South Africa, with powerful effect.’


—Padraig Carmody, Associate Professor in Geography at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa​
‘This fascinating study utilizes the work of Henri Lefebvre on space to contextualize and understand state formation in the case of South Africa. This book refreshingly engages both the internal and external processes integral to the formation of the South African state over time, and provides an incisive analysis of the embedded neoliberal state.’


—Brent Steele, Professor and Francis D. Wormuth Presidential Chair, Political Science Department, University of Utah, USA

This book explains the making of the South African state and thereby contributes to the development theory by analyzing the concept of the embedded neoliberal state. The author offers a theoretical exploration of state formation as an inherently interconnected international and domestic social process as applied to the history and development of South Africa. A genuine social science that eschews disciplinary boundaries, this will appeal to a wide audience of scholars in the fields of political development, political science, African and development studies.
Derick A. Becker is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia.