Political Capital Format: Paperback

Political Capital describes the gradual emergence of the South African business community as a political actor from 1948 to the present. Utilizing more than fifty interviews with key business figures, government officials, and black leaders, as well as numerous other primary sources, the study weaves a detailed historical account of this process. The surge in corporate political activity after the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre is discussed in detail, as is the political apathy of the mid-1960s, the resumption of business activism in the 1970s, and the attempt of the new Prime Minister Botha to co-opt the business community. The book's central thesis concerns the cause of business politicization. The author demonstrates that social instability is the key catalyst of political activity, not the short-term calculations of economic health. The book maintains that, once in the political arena, businesses respond to a complex variety of constituency pressures. Co-published with the Harvard University Center for International Affairs.