Race and Regionalism in the Politics of Taxation in Brazil and South Africa

Description

Nationally-specific definitions of citizenship proved decisive for the development of the Tax State in Brazil and South Africa in the twentieth century. Although both countries had been divided along racial and regional lines in the late nineteenth century, watershed constitutions addressed these political problems in very different ways. South Africa's institutionalized white supremacy created a level of political solidarity that contributed to the development of a highly progressive and efficient tax system. In Brazil, federalism and official non-racialism proved more divisive, making the enactment and collection of progressive taxes much more difficult. The legacy of these divergent state-building processes remains evident at the beginning of the 21st century. Lieberman extends this analysis to a wider group of country cases and finds similar patterns and causal relationships between the politics of race, region, and taxation. The findings are based on field research, large-scale national surveys, macroeconomic data, and various archival sources.

"Tax policies are telling and shaped by the most fundamental aspects of politics, including how collective identies and obligations are perceived and acted upon. Lieberman provides a pathbreaking comparative study which richly explores this issue, using an impressive array of sources and methods. The result will recast and inform the debate." Anthony Marx, Columbia University "At a time when governing is too often reduced to a management problem, Evan Lieberman has performed a timely service by reminding us of the importance of identities and a sense of community in shaping the way we relate to government. This study of a vital aspect of state capacity, taxation in two important societies of the South, is an important contribution to our understanding of relations between states and citizens." Steven Friedman, Centre for Policy Studies "Race and Regionalism is an excellent book. Through a careful analysis of the growth of the Tax State in South Africa and Brazil this book offers enormous insights into political development far beyond the issue area of taxation and Historical Institutionalist theory and to our understanding of the role of fiscal policy in political and economic development. It is a model of comparative historical analysis." Sven Steinmo, University of Colorado "Race and Regionalism is a terrific book." American Journal of Sociology "Evan Lieberman has produced a first-rate work of comparative political economy. Just as importantly, he has done so by going boldly (and engagingly where so few have gone before -- into the tax state...Essential reading to all students of comparative political economy." APSA Perspectives on Politics "This intriguing and counter-intuitive argument, based mostly on secondary sources and recent field research, makes this a very important and pioneering work...Lieberman shines a bright light on a very promising research path that one hopes future researchers will pursue." The Americas, Steven Tonk, University of California, Irvine