Win-win or new imperialism? Public-private partnerships in Africa mining

Abstract

One of the most significant elements of globalisation is the way in which the reshaping of the public-private divide is transforming the relationship between state and economy. In industrialised economies, there is a growing commodification and privatisation of public services, undertaken through the establishment of public private partnerships. State policy is becoming increasingly ‘market-driven’, managing national politics in such a way as to adapt to the pressures of transnational market forces (Leys, 2001). In developing economies, structural adjustment has removed the state as the principal agent of development, while private agencies are playing an increasingly public role as they engage in public service delivery. These include non-profit organisations (churches and NGOs) and for-profit caregiving and educational institutions (van Rooy & Robinson, 1998). In the political arena, the discourse over donor-defined democratisation has also meant a larger political role for a differentiated set of private agents, in the name of civil society participation, prompting Schmitz & Hutchful (1992) to call this a recipe for ‘free markets and free votes’.