Although the body of literature on the phenomenon of state capture has been growing more prominent since 1999, some academics have still struggled to determine even the apparent manifestation of state-capture political settings at a definitional and operational level. The main reason for this is that they seem to have unwarrantedly confined to economic explanations, or Hellman and his colleagues’ original definition and conditions of exploring the phenomenon in which the outside business actors of the state with monetary interests are only recognized as the main active captors of the state, among other conditions. Therefore, it is theoretically necessary to develop an analytical framework for an understanding of state capture, which helps us examine how the inside political actors of the state can also involve themselves in capturing the state for their political interests. In discussing definitional and operational issues on the original and current understanding of the phenomenon, we attempt to identify some key factors and normative elements in the nurturing of such an analytical framework. It is reasonable to conclude that to enhance our ability to fully explore state-capture political settings in the established elements of a constitution or legislation, the occurrence of shaping ‘the formation of the basic rules of the game’ should conceptually and empirically be recognized as a typology of the phenomenon of state capture, namely ‘constitution capture’ while shifting our research focus from the activity-politics (the political life) of the state to the sphere-politics (the idea) of the state in a way that the locus of the phenomenon and its profound consequences are to be explained in terms of the sphere-politics.

Page(s): 294-307                                                                                                                   Date of Publication: 05 September 2022

 Sandun Yapa Department Political Science, University of Hunan, China, Sri Lanka  , Prof. Baishun Yuan Department Political Science, University of Hunan, China, Sri Lanka

[1] Akinduro, Olufunto & Masterson, Grant, 2018, ‘Encoding the Rules: Capturing the State through the Electoral Process’, in M. Meirotti & G. Masterson (eds.), State Capture in Africa: Old Threats, New Packaging?, pp. 59-70, EISA, South Africa. [2] Amundsen, Inge, 1999, ‘Political Corruption: An Introduction to the Issues’, CMI Working Paper 1999:7, 1-32. Available at https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/1040-political-corruption.pdf [3] Badie, B., Berg-Schlosser, D. & Morlino, L., 2011, ‘The Introduction to Political Science’, in B. Badie, D. Berg-Schlosser & L. Morlino, eds., International Encyclopedia of Political Science, SAGE Publications, Loss Angelis,vol I, pp. Li-Lxvii. [4] Baumgartner, Frank R., Berry, Jeffrey M., Hojnacki, Marie, Leech, Beth L. & David C. Kimbal, 2009, Lobbying and Policy Change: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why, University of Chicago Press, the USA. [5] Bhorat, H, Buthelezi, M, Chipkin, I., Duma, S., Mondi, L., Peter, C., Qobo, M., Swilling, M. & Friedenstein, H., 2017, Betrayal of the Promise: How South Africa is being Stolen: State Capacity Research Project. Available at: https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Betrayal-of-the-Promise-25052017.pdf [6] Brooks, Robert C., 1909, ‘The Nature of Political Corruption’, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 24(1), 1-22. [7] Brooks, G., Walsh, D., Lewis, C. & Kim, H, 2013, Preventing Corruption-Investigation, Enforcement and Governance: Crime Prevention and Security Management, Palgrave Macmillan, The UK. [8] Buchanan, James M. & Tullock, Gordon, [1962] 1999, The Calculus of Consent Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy (Collected Works of James M. Buchanan, Volume 3), Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, the USA. [9] Chayes, Sarah, 2015, Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security, W. W. Norton & Company, New York. [10] Durkheim, Emile, 2003, Professional Ethics and Civic Moral, transl. C. Brookfield, 2nd edn., Routledge, London [11] Edwards, Duane C., 2017, ‘Corruption and State Capture under Two Regimes in Guyana’, Working Paper, University of West Indies, Barbados. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316608300_Corruption_and_State_Capture_under_two_Regimes_in_Guyana [12] Edrisinha, Rohan & Jayakody, Aruni (ed.), 2011, The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution: Substance and Process, the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo. Epublication. Availabel at https://www.cpalanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Eighteenth-Amendment-to-the-Constitution-Substance-and-Process.pdf [13] Elster, Jon, 1977, ‘Ulysses and the Sirens: A theory of Imperfect Rationality’, Social Science Information, Vol. 16(5), 469–526. [14] Elster, Jon, 2000, Ulysses Unbound Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints, Cambridge University Press, New York. [15] Elster, Jon, 2003, ‘Don’t Burn Your Bridge before You Come To It: Some Ambiguities and Complexities of Precommitment’, Texas Law Review, Vol. 81, 1751-1787. [16] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Report, 1999, Transition Report: Ten Years of Transition (Economic Transition in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the CIS), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London. [17] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Report, 2000, Transition Report: Employment, Skills and Transition (Economic Transition in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the CIS), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. [18] Evans, C. L. & Sherlund, S. M., 2011, ‘Are Antidumping Duties for Sale? Case-Level Evidence on the Grossman-Helpman Protection for Sale Model, Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 78(2), 330–357. [19] Fiebelkorn, Andreas, 2019, ‘State Capture Analysis: How to Quantitatively Analyze the Regulatory Abuse by Business-State Relationships, World Bank Discussion Paper: Governance Global Practice, No 2, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/33094/State-Capture-Analysis-How-to-Quantitatively-Analyze-the-Regulatory-Abuse-by-Business-State-Relationships.pdf?sequence=5 [20] Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, 2011, Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States (Official Government Edition), U.S. Government Printing Office. Available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-FCIC/pdf/GPO-FCIC.pdf [21] Fiebelkorn, Andreas, 2019, ‘State Capture Analysis: How to Quantitatively Analyze the Regulatory Abuse by Business-State Relationships, World Bank Discussion Paper: Governance Global Practice, No 2, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/33094/State-Capture-Analysis-How-to-Quantitatively-Analyze-the-Regulatory-Abuse-by-Business-State-Relationships.pdf?sequence=5 [22] Fries, S., Lysenko, T. & Polenac, S., 2003, ‘The 2002 Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey: Results from a Survey of 6100 Firms’, Working Paper No 84, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London. Available at: [23] https://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/economics/workingpapers/wp0084.pdf [24] Galbraith, James K., 2008, The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too, Free Press, New York. [25] Gawande, K. & Bandyopadhyay, U., 2000, ‘Is Protection for Sale? Evidence on the Grossman-Helpman Theory of Endogenous Protection’, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 82(1), 139–152. [26] Gelder,Sarah van (ed.), 2011, This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco. [27] Grossman, G. & Helpman, E., 1994, ‘Protection for Sale, American Economic Review, Vol. 84 (4), 833–850. [28] Grzymala-Busse, Anna, 2007, Rebuilding Leviathan: Party Competition and State Exploitation in Post-Communist Democracies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [29] Heidenheimer, A. J., Johnston, M. & LeVine, V.T. (ed.), 1989, Political Corruption: A Handbook, Transaction Publishers, Oxford. [30] Heywood, Paul M., 2015, ‘Measuring Corruption Perspectives, Critiques and Limits’, in P. M. Heywood (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption, pp. 137-153, Routledge, London. [31] Hellman, Joel & Kaufmann, Daniel, n.d., ‘State Capture in Transition: Submission to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State’, Available at https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/documents/state-capture-in-transition.pdf [32] Hellman, Joel & Kaufmann, Daniel, 2001(September), ‘Confronting the Challenge of State Capture in Transition Economies’, Finance & Development, Vol. 38(3), International Monetary Fund. Available at www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2001/09/hellman.htm [33] Hellman, Joel & Schankerman, Mark, 2000, ‘Intervention, Corruption and Capture: The Nexus between Enterprises and the State’, Economics of Transition, Vol. 8(3), pp. 545-576. [34] Hellman, J. S., Jones, G. & Kaufmann, D., 2000a, ‘Seize the State, Seize the Day: An empirical analysis of State Capture and Corruption in Transition’, The First Draft Paper prepared for the ABCDE 2000 Conference on April 18- 20, Washington D.C. [35] Hellman, J., Jones, G. & Kaufmann, D., 2000b, ‘Are Foreign Investors and Multinationals Engaging in Corrupt Practices in Transition Economies?’, Transition (May-June-July), pp.4-7. Available at: http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00818/WEB/PDF/FDI_TRAN.PDF [36] Hellman, J. S., Jones, G. & Kaufmann, D., 2000c, ‘Seize the State, Seize the Day: State Capture and Corruption and Influence in Transition’, The World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2444, The World Bank. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/537461468766474836/pdf/multi-page.pdf [37] Hellman, J. S, G. Jones, D. Kaufmann & M. Schankerman, 2000a, ‘Measuring Governance, Corruption and State Capture: How Firms and Bureaucrats Shape the Business Environment in Transition Economies’, The World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2312, The World Bank. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWBIGOVANTCOR/Resources/measure.pdf [38] Hellman, J.S., Jones, G., Kaufmann, D. & Schankerman, M., 2000b, ‘Measuring Governance and State Capture: The Role of Bureaucrats and Firms in Shaping The Business Environment Results of a Firm-Level Study Across 20 Transition Economies’, the Research Working Paper No. 51, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Available at: https://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/economics/workingpapers/wp0051.pdf [39] Hellman, J. S., Jones, G. & Kaufmann, D., 2003, ‘Seize the State, Seize the Day: State Capture and Influence in Transition Economies’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 31, pp. 751–773. [40] Iwasaki, Ichiro & Suzuki, Taku, 2007, Transition Strategy, Corporate Exploitation, and State Capture: An Empirical Analysis of The Former Soviet States, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 40, pp. 393-422. [41] Rawls, John, [1971] 1999, A Theory of Justice, Belknap Press, the USA. [42] Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part 1-Vol.1, 2022, Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, Report: Part 1- Vol. 1: Chapter 1 – South African Airways and its Associated Companies, Available at https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202201/judicial-commission-inquiry-state-capture-reportpart-1.pdf [43] Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part II-Vol.1, 2022, Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State, Report: Part II Vol.1- Transnet, Available at https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202201/judicial-commission-inquiry-state-capture-reportpart-1.pdf [44] Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part II-Vol. 2, 2022, Judicial Commission Of Inquiry into allegations Of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State Report: Part II-Vol. 2: Denel, Available at https://centralnews.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Judicial-Commission-of-Inquiry-into-State-Capture-Report_Part-2-VII.pdf [45] Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part III-Vol. 1, 2022, Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State Report: Part III- Vol. 1, BOSASA, Available at https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202203/judicial-commission-inquiry-state-capture-reportpart-3-visss.pdf [46] Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part III-Vol. 2, 2022, Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State Report: Part III- Vol 2: BOSASA, Available at https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202203/judicial-commission-inquiry-state-capture-reportpart-3-vii.pdf [47] Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part III-Vol. 4, 2022, Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State Report: Part III- Vol 4: BOSASA, Available at https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202203/judicial-commission-inquiry-state-capture-reportpart-3-ivsss.pdf [48] Johnston, Michael, 2005, Syndromes of Corruption: Wealth, Power, and Democracy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [49] Key, V.O., 1936, The Technique of Political Graft in the United States, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, cited in della Porta, Donatella & Vannucci, Alberto, 2012, The Hidden Order of Corruption: An Institutional Approach, Ashgate Publishing Limited, England. [50] Krishnamohan, T., 2015, ‘Eighteenth Amendment and the Empowering of the President in Sri Lanka’, the Sri Lankan Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol.1(1). SSRN Electronic Journal at [51] Lipsky, M., 1980, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services, Russell Sage Foundation, New York. [52] Lodge, Tom, 2018, ‘State Capture: Conceptual Considerations’, in M. Meirotti & G. Masterson (eds.), State Capture in Africa: Old Threats, New Packaging?, pp. 13-28, EISA, South Africa. [53] Locke, John, ([1689] 2016), Second Treatise of Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration, in M. Goldie (eds.), Oxford World’s Classics: Second Treatise of Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration, Oxford University Press, Oxford. [54] Martini, Maíra, 2014, ‘State Capture: An Overview’, Transparency International: Anti-Corruption Helpdesk, retrieved on 12 April, 2018 from https://www.transparency.org/files/content/corruptionqas/State_capture_an_overview_2014.pdf [55] McMillan, Stephanie, 2012, The Beginning of the American Fall: A Comics Journalist Inside the Occupy Wall Street Movement, Seven Stories Press, New York. [56] Masterson, Grand, 2018, ‘Conclusion’, in M. Meirotti & G. Masterson (eds.), State Capture in Africa: Old Threats, New Packaging?, pp. 183-188, EISA, South Africa. [57] Mkhabela, Mpumelelo, 2018, ‘South Africa and the Capture of the Executive: Undermining Transformation?’, in M. Meirotti & G. Masterson (eds.), State Capture in Africa: Old Threats, New Packaging?, pp. 119-130, EISA, South Africa. [58] Meirotti, M. & Masterson, G. (ed.), 2018, State Capture in Africa: Old Threats, New Packaging?, EISA, South Africa. [59] Palonen, Kari, 2011, ‘Politics’, in G. T. Kurian, ed., The Encyclopedia of Political Science, CQ Press, Washington, vol. 1-5, pp. 1299-1301. [60] Peirce, Charles Sanders, 1931-1935, The Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce: Volumes I-VI (Edited by C. Hartshorne & P. Weiss), Harvard University Press, the USA. (Electronic Edition). [61] Peirce, Charles Sanders, 1958, The Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce: Volumes VII-VIII (Edited by A. W. Burks), Harvard University Press, the USA. (Electronic Edition). [62] Poggi, Gianfranco, 1990, The State: Its Nature, Development, And Prospects, Polity Press, Cambridge. [63] The Report of Public Protector (Report of PP) of South Africa, 2016, ‘State of Capture: A Report of the Public Protector’, Report No 6 of 2016/17, 14 October 2016. Available at https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/state-capture-report-public-protector-14-october-2016 [64] Rijkers, B, Freund, C. & Nucifora, A., 2014 (March), ‘All in the Family: State Capture in Tunisia’, World Bank Policy [65] Research Working Paper, No 6810, World Bank. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/440461468173649062/All-in-the-family-state-capture-in-Tunisia [66] Rothstein, B. & Varraich, A., 2017, ‘Corruption, State Capture and Political Particularism’, in B. Rothstein & A. Varraich (eds.), Making Sense of Corruption, pp.94-102, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [67] Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, W. Robert, 1994, ‘Politicians and Firms’, Quarterly Journal of Economics , Vol. 109 (4), 995-1025. [68] Southall, Roger, 2018, ‘What’s New About “State Capture”?’, in M. Meirotti & G. Masterson (eds.), State Capture in Africa: Old Threats, New Packaging?, pp. 29-43, EISA, South Africa. [69] The Statement of Public Protector of South Africa, 2018, ‘The Statement on the Terms of Reference for the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture’. Available at [70] http://www.pprotect.org/sites/default/files/media%20statements/FINAL%20STATEMENT%20-%20Commission%20of%20Inquiry%20into%20State%20Capture%2018%20Jan%202018%20%283%29%20%282%29.pdf [71] Steinberger, Peter J., 2004, The Idea of the State, Cambridge University Press, the UK. [72] Stigler, George J., 1971 (Spring), ‘The Theory of Economic Regulation’, The Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science, Vol. 2(1), 3-21. [73] Stokes, S.C, Dunning, T. Nazareno M. & Brusco, V., 2013, Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism: The Puzzle of Distributive Politics, Cambridge University Press, New York. [74] Theobald, Robin, 1990, Corruption, Development and Underdevelopment, The Macmillan Press Ltd., London. [75] Transparency International, 2009, Anti-corruption Plain Language Guide, Transparency International, retrieved on 10 April, 2018 from www.transparency.org [76] Welty, E., Bolton, M., Nayak, M. & Malone C. (ed.), 2013, Occupying Political Science: The Occupy Wall Street Movement from New York to the World, Palgrave Macmillan, the U.S.A. [77] The World Bank, 2000, Anticorruption in Transition: A contribution to the Policy Debate, The World Bank, Washington, D.C., The USA. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308198451_Anticorruption_in_Transition_A_Contribution_to_the_Policy_Debate Constitutions/Statutes [1] The Constitution of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka of 1978 as amended up to 29th October 2020 (Revised Edition 2021), Available at https://www.parliament.lk/files/pdf/constitution.pdf [2] The Constitution of India of 1949 as modified up to the 1st December, 2007, Government of India Ministry of Law and Justice, retrieved 22 February, 2018 from https://doj.gov.in/sites/default/files/Constitution-of-India_0.pdf [3] The Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971. Available at Legislative Department of Ministry of Law and Justice, https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-twenty-fourth-amendment-act-1971 [4] The Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1971. Available at Legislative Department of Ministry of Law and Justice, https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-twenty-fifth-amendment-act-1971 [5] The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975. Available at Legislative Department of Ministry of Law and Justice, https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-thirty-eighth-amendment-act-1975 , [6] The Constitution (Thirty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1975, Available at Legislative Department of Ministry of Law and Justice, https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-thirty-ninth-amendment-act-1975 [7] The Constitution (Forty-second amendment) Act, 1976. Available at Legislative Department of Ministry of Law and Justice, https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-forty-second-amendment-act-1976 [8] The Official Language Act, No. 33 of 1956 (or Sinhala Only Act) of Ceylon (or Sri Lanka), retrieved 19 August, 2021 from http://www.commonlii.org/lk/legis/num_act/ola33o1956180/longtitle.html Newspapers [1] BusinessTech, 31 October 2016, available at https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/141761/van-rooyen-makes-second-attempt-to-block-state-capture-report/ [2] BusinessTech, 2 November 2016, available at https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/142113/public-protectors-report-on-state-capture-released-download-it-here/

Sandun Yapa, Prof. Baishun Yuan “A Normative Approach to Exploring Political Settings for Constitution Capture” International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) volume-6-issue-7, pp.294-307 August 2022 URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-6-issue-7/294-307.pdf

Download PDF

A Normative Approach to Exploring Political Settings for Constitution Capture