Björn Beckman

The Liberation of Civil Society: Neo- Liberal Ideology and Political Theory

The liberation of civil society : neo-liberal ideology and political theory in an african context

Whose state? State and capitalist development in Nigeria

General issues raised by the authors two previous contributions to this Review,in Nos.19 and 22. are here applied to an analysis of the character of the Nigerian state and the nature of its interrelationships with capital — foreign, local and capital‐in‐general. Oversimplifications that blame ‘under‐development’ on international capital working through a straight neo‐colonial state, and those that see a national bourgeoisie able to use state power against imperialism to promote national capitalist development are rejected as at best part‐truths. The state is seen as also and primarily an instrument for promoting the conditions for accumulation for capital in general. Further specification of the nature of the state depends on an analysis of the class struggle such activities inevitably involve, in their particular Nigerian context.

Imperialism and the ‘national bourgeoisie’

This article takes up some of the major issues surrounding the development/underdevelopment debate, as taking place in Kenya and Nigeria in particular. While underdevelopment theory as exemplified in Amin and Frank has been found wanting, the ‘return to Marx’ via analyses of the internationalisation of capital and class formation in the periphery has not answered the questions raised by underdevelopment theory because it has not an adequate analysis of imperialism, one which integrates the study of class formation in the periphery with its effects on the system as a whole and vice versa.An analysis of the Nigerian case shows how this might be done. Most importantly it shows how imperialism protects local bourgeoisies from the demands of the oppressed classes, while local bourgeoisies through control of the state provide monopoly conditions for imperialist expansion.

Scholars and democratic politics in Nigeria

The chapter reports on current joint work on the role of organized interests in Nigerian democratization (Beckman and Jega, 1994). The wider study seeks to develop a general argument about the connections between the pursuit of group self-interest, the defence of organizational rights and involvement in wider democratic struggles. The argument draws on the experiences of a range of Nigerian organizations during the 1980s and early 1990s, including the central labour body, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), one major industrial union (the textile workers’), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), one women’s organization, Women in Nigeria (WIN), and some civic and human rights groups. In this chapter two organizations are used to illustrate the argument, the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the organizations of the ‘scholars’. Much of the chapter, however, deals with the general issues.

Imperialism and Capitalist Transformation: Critique of a Kenyan Debate

The question of whether or not a dependency model is applicable to Kenya has been subject to considerable recent debate. Beckman offers a critique of the overall terms in which the debate has been cast. He argues that the critics of underdevelopment theory have failed to transcend its problematic and its misdirected identification of contradictions. They have in consequence placed unjustified emphasis on the state as a instrument of ‘factional’ interests. Defenders of the dependency position have for their part been unable to place their analysis within the framework of the logic of capital accumulation, imperialism and class formation. But for Beckman, it is only in terms of the general requirements of capital accumulation that the relation of the state to underlying class forces can be adequately understood.

The military as revolutionary vanguard: a critique

The crisis of Nigerian ruling class politics in the wake of a collapsing oil economy has made sections of the Left pin their hopes to a left military intervention. This essay is a critique of such positions. It is particularly concerned with recent attempts to offer scientific justification for attributing a leading revolutionary role to the military. The essay also discusses the theoretical backing provided by soviet writers for such ‘military vanguardism’. Beckman argues that the left‐militarists fail to identify the social and political forces and conditions that can sustain such revolutionary military role. There is a neglect of class analysis and an incorrect identification of contradictions in society. There is an idealist understanding of the state and the basis of political power. There is a deficient grasp of the nature of imperialist domination and the extent to which antagonistic class relations have been firmly entrenched. Politically, Beckman argues, military vanguard theories divert attentio...

Lagos tailors, trade unions, and organizations in the informal economy

Abstract: In January 2012 a broad spectrum of popular groups staged an unprecedented protest against the removal of what has been termed a “subsidy” on fuel prices by the Nigerian government. The participation of tailors in this national political event suggests that self-employed artisans were prepared to transcend their narrow nonpolitical agenda to promote their interests and demands for decent social and economic conditions. Interviews with participating organization representatives in Lagos indicate the supportive role of alliances with labor unions and organized informal workers at large. We see current global developments in the textile industry as conducive to this outcome. Résumé: Cet article examine l’étendue de l’influence des associations de tailleurs sur les lois nationales régissant les problèmes concernant le bien-être de leurs membres, établie par leur alliance au sein d’une organisation parapluie les regroupant avec des travailleurs industriels et des producteurs de l’économie informelle. Le contexte immédiat de cette étude de cas est la révolte urbaine de janvier 2012 au Nigéria à la suite de la suppression de la subvention pour le pétrole. La mise au point concerne les tailleurs dans la ville de Lagos. Des entrevues avec plusieurs organisations de tailleurs offrent des aperçus utiles sur la configuration des relations formelles et informelles dans l’effort d’organisation des producteurs de textiles, alors que la compétition internationale fait pression sur ce qui fut par le passé une organisation syndicale forte, et que la mobilisation internationale soutient la syndicalisation des producteurs informels pour défendre leurs intérêts.

Trade Unions and Popular Representation : Nigeria and South Africa comperad

Scholars (primarily, but not only, from Europe) are naturally enough preoccupied with the historical role of labour movements and their ability to sustain their political influence on state power through the close link between unions and the political wing of the movement, whether social- democratic, socialist, or communist. Are working-class-based and trade- union-backed political parties the solution to the ‘democratic problem’ in much of the world today? Some of us feel that we have good reasons to think so. The notion of a labour movement seems to break out of the straitjacket imposed by those who want us to choose between parliaments and civil society. By allowing itself to be located at the very centre of the political society, it dissolves the state-society division that has been popularised by liberal and neo-liberal theory.

Peasants and Democratic Struggles in Nigeria

This article discusses the role of the peasantry in the political strategies of the Nigerian left. It begins by looking at the way in which some socialist‐oriented organisations and writers have approached the peasant and agrarian questions. The paper discusses the political and economic implications of some of the positions taken, including ‘fighting the kulaks’ and ‘eliminating middlemen and money‐lenders’. It stresses the limited scope for left Intervention on the side of the poor peasants In confrontation with the rich in the foreseeable future. Beckman argues that the democratic transition may be Jeopardised both economically and politically if such intervention is pushed prematurely. There is a need to focus on the broad middle ground within the peasantry for purposes of political support and agricultural development. The paper recognises the growing internal differentiation and class contradictions within the peasant communities but it suggests that such divisions can only be effectively addressed ...

Trade Unions and the Politics of Crisis

Who will advance a popular democratic agenda in opposition to the prevailing neoliberal global order and, specifically, in response to the current global crisis? I argue in this chapter that unions in the North need to ally themselves with the rising workers’ rights movement in the South if ‘the race to the bottom’ is to be avoided. A strong global labour movement is needed to make workers’ rights, including the rights of organization and representation, a precondition for the continued internationalization of capital. These rights, however, are unlikely to be promoted as part of a neoliberal world order. The advancement of rights, therefore, has to go hand in hand with a more fundamental change in macroeconomic policies. Trade unions, it is suggested in this chapter, are best placed to make it happen, but they cannot do it on their own. The wage-earners are growing globally and their struggles for more decent work and organizational rights provide the backbone for a popular democratic movement. Northern unions have to realize that the centre of global unionism has shifted and that their own capacity to respond effectively to the crisis of the neoliberal turn depends on the success of the organizing efforts of the unions in the periphery.