Understanding the State in relation to Late Capitalism: A Response to “New” State Capitalism Contributions

This intervention responds to a series of articles—including one published in Antipode—on what is referred to as “new” state capitalism (NSC) or sometimes, simply, state capitalism. Our overarching argument is that by eliding state and institutionalist theory and, specifically, separating the analysis of state transformation from the power and leverage of social forces under late capitalism, NSC scholars end up offering an inaccurate, inchoate and incoherent conceptualisation and analysis of important phenomena. Our contention is that future work needs to return to socio-relational analyses of the state, prioritising the power and leverage of social forces operating under patterns of accumulation characterised by more-integrated-than-ever-before global economic-market relations and the concentration of productive and financial capital.