The State and Development in South Africa (Routledge Contemporary South Africa)

This book interrogates the nexus between the state and development in post-apartheid South Africa. It highlights current problems, and suggests ways of consolidating state capabilities, improving public institutions and enhancing governance and development outcomes.

Framed around developmental state theory, the book argues that the role of the state in South Africa will be fundamental for addressing the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality. There is a growing concern that South Africa is at a development impasse, with ongoing crises in energy, infrastructure, and unemployment. The chapters investigate the role of the post-apartheid state in pursuing development and navigating a neoliberal globalised society. The book explores state capacity in all spheres of government, the relationship between politics and bureaucracy, and the role of state-owned enterprises in the country’s developmental aspirations. The book concludes by summarising the successes, challenges and lessons that have emerged over the course of the book; and anticipating future directions or possibilities for the state in South Africa’s development impasse.

Bringing together leading voices in the field, this book will be an essential read for researchers of African politics, political economy and development. The book is also relevant for policymakers, students and practitioners in social sciences.

Isaac Khambule is a professor of political economy and the Director of the Africa Centre for Evidence at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was previously an Associate Professor of Political Economy at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, where he taught Decision-Making in Public Institutions and was the Academic Head of the Executive Education Unit. Isaac’s research interest is on the relationship between the State, Institutions and Development, with a particular focus on the role of the state in economic development and the entrepreneurial state. He has also worked at the University of KwaZulu-Natal as a lecturer and at the Human Sciences Research Council as a researcher. His recent publications include two edited books: Contested Airport Land: Social-Spatial Transformation and Environmental Injustice in Asia and Africa (Routledge, 2024) and Contemporary South Africa and the Political Economy of Regional Development (Routledge, 2025).