Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores some of the Marxist debates on the state and develops a theoretical framework for the analysis of the state- labour relation that is based on historical experiences, rather than logically derived from the capitalist mode of production. It provides an analysis of the class character of the Botswana state and shows that the roots of the present political elite go back to the pre-Independence period. The book shows how the postcolonial state has been in the forefront of economic development through direct investment in infrastructural development and in the establishment of public enterprises. It examines the capitalist form of the Botswana state and the state’s restructuring of the trade union movement and the ideological habituation of the working class. The book presents the examination of labour law in postcolonial Botswana.