Embedded autonomy between the state and non-state actors is an important pre-condition to building a capable developmental state.
This was a key message at the ECSECC webinar which explored how a state that is sufficiently embedded in an intimate partnership with non-state actors is more likely to achieve its development goals.
The webinar also heard that that the deterioration of state institutions is likely to go hand in hand with the disorganisation of civil society. The webinar took place on Thursday, 07 December 2023, and featured Dr Candice Morkel, the Director of the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results, Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA) at the University of the Witwatersrand.
The webinar was facilitated by ECSECC's Programme Manager for Strategic Research and Innovation Dr Sybert Liebenberg. "We are building on the success of the Eastern Cape Development Convention," Dr Liebenberg said in his opening remarks at the webinar in reference to the inaugural Eastern Cape Provincial Development Convention which took place on 21 November 2023 at the Premier Regent Hotel in East London. The convention is a platform by which the provincial government, labour, business, institutions of higher learning and civil society seek to cooperate, through problem-solving and negotiation, on growth and development issues facing the province.
The Indlulamithi Trust hosted a similar social compacting seminar in July 2022.
"As a research institution we are getting to understand key issues and key challenges so that ultimately, we can come up with some very good solutions to those challenges," Dr Liebenberg said about ECSECC hosting this webinar.
He said with a career spanning over 20 years in policy research, public sector planning and M&E systems and capacity building and having served both in the Eastern Cape Office of the Premier, and North West Office of the Premier, Dr Morkel was more than fit to give a talk on the topic to this webinar.
Defining the state
In her presentation, Dr Morkel outlined the definition of the state saying many definitions rely on a structural-functional approach: the institutions that make up the state, or alternatively the role and functions that it plays. Dr Morkel said an important definition in the context of the webinar discussion was Greek philosopher and sociologist Nicos Poulantzas' contestation that the state is relational - that is, it is co-constituted by its relations with society. "The contemporary democratic state is therefore inextricably linked to society, such that an analysis of the state cannot be done in isolation from the society it governs," Dr Morkel said.
Defining the Developmental State
Dr Morkel said despite extensive research in this area, the definition of a developmental state remains nebulous.
Said Dr Morkel: "We see the developmental state commonly defined, quoting Bagchi (2000) as; 'a state that puts economic development as the top priority of governmental policy and is able to design effective instruments to promote such a goal'." Dr Morkel said following the economic growth argument, developmental states, therefore, have traditionally been associated with strong relations between the private sector and the state, such that the state provides an enabling environment within which private capital may thrive.
"However, this limited view of what defines a developmental state has been questioned by a number of scholars. Heterodox views recognize that economic growth is not the most salient indicator of development, and therefore traditional notions of the state’s relationship with primarily the private sector has come under scrutiny.”
According to Dr Morkel some scholars have suggested that the state may need to prioritize a similarly close relationship with non-traditional non-state actors (including labour and civil society) as they argue that a country's economic performance in fact relies on the relations between the state and such societal institutions. This was because there was a rising consensus that "development" includes the well-being of people, and not just economic growth; therefore, civil society and labour (not only industrial elites) are critical partners in designing and implementing national development strategies.
"I want to specifically point out the shift away from the focus of the relationship with the private sector, and turn our attention to the key argument, which is that: a state that is sufficiently embedded in an intimate yet autonomous partnership with a broad set of non-state actors is more likely to achieve its development goals. We can go further and state that embedded autonomy between the state and non-state actors is an important pre-condition to building a capable developmental state," Dr Morkel continued: "ECSECC itself, of course, is perfectly suited to be having this discussion today, as it was founded specifically to foster meaningful partnerships between the key stakeholders of the Eastern Cape province. Social compacting is, we could say, in ECSECC's DNA."
Defining embeddedness and autonomy
"What we are talking about here is not a simple amicable relationship between the state and its stakeholders, but dense, internal ties and exchanges between the state and society (represented by organised formations), and where stakeholders' powers are actually incorporated into the state," Dr Morkel said. She said however, this intimacy and deep connectedness needs to be balanced by autonomy, which in short is the ability of the state to act independently, without undue external influence.
Building State Capacity and a capable Developmental State
According to Dr Morkel the competence of bureaucratic machinery is the fulcrum around which service delivery results are achieved. She said that state capacity is the cure for predatory states and fosters the ability of the state to act coherently, reining in individual greed as well as an entrepreneurial posture to development for the common good. "The ability of the state to act coherently and the robustness of the state apparatus are key levers in the relationship with civil society," Dr Morkel said, referencing sociologist and Developmental State scholar Peter Evans. She continued: "South Africa’s pursuit of a capable, ethical developmental state is ensconced within this ability to act coherently, efficiently and effectively. Evans, in his seminal work Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Development foregrounds the importance of state capacity in building a developmental state, highlighting (amongst others) meritocratic recruitment, reward systems and incentives linked to the sustained pursuit of collective goals, complemented by predictable career paths and long-term rewards for bureaucrats both of which help to generate a sense of corporate coherence."
Q&A
During the question-and-answer session, Dr Liebenberg asked Dr Morkel whether she knew of any other examples where there has been a good workable social compact, "Yeah, I think the basic one, which we all default to is of course our Constitution, that is also assumed to be a social compact,” Dr Morkel said, also referencing others such as the Jobs Summit agreements.
However, Dr Morkel raised a question around whether many of these were true social compacts borne out of a trust-based, intimate relationship with a broad-based network of non-state actors, and not "the usual suspects".
ECSECC Development Planning Specialist Ian Assam wanted to know more about the threshold of sufficient conditions for social compacting. Dr Morkel responded by saying: "If a state is leaning towards a particular definition of the developmental state, which means a strong state, a state that is able to reign in and discipline non-state actors, which is the traditional definition of the developmental state, then it will make the decision about who it will include in its processes of planning. But if it is leaning towards a more open state that truly believes in forging close relations with citizens and a people-centered state, then it will open up that space for democratic deliberation around what must go into the next Medium Term Strategic Framework."
Andile Fekisi, an Intergovernmental Co-ordination and Planning Specialist at ECSECC said he liked the point of distinguishing between the growing mistrust between the state and citizens, vis a vis between the state and organised formations, as highlighted in Dr Morkel's presentation. "This is the recognition that we made when we were preparing for the Development Convention, that actually the mistrust between state and social formations is actually an antithesis of what we want to achieve," he said.
Fekisi continued, "Social compacting, social cohesion and I would like to just qualify social cohesion here and say progressive social cohesion, because you could have all sorts that would not actually help you."
Dr Morkel said the South African Government was attentive to these challenges, "otherwise we would not be having the significant number of conventions, interventions, institutions and dialogues happening.”
You can watch the full webinar recording here
You can view Dr Morkel’s PowerPoint presentation here
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