Mr. Musk’s recent stand against U.S.A.I.D., the federal agency responsible for administering foreign and development assistance since 1961, could have come directly from the state capture playbook — only often more brazen in intent. “U.S.A.I.D. is a criminal organization,” Mr. Musk posted over the weekend. “Time for it to die.” In that time, the agency’s website went offline, and its top two security officials were placed on administrative leave after refusing to allow members of Mr. Musk’s team access to secure U.S.A.I.D. systems. Finally, on Monday, Mr. Musk said that he had consulted Mr. Trump and that “we’re shutting it down.” (On Monday, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, announced that he is the acting administrator of the agency.)
The example from South Africa was detailed in a 2016 report actually called “State of Capture” from the country’s public protector, Thulisile Madonsela.
It described how, over a number of years, billions of dollars of public funding went into the pockets of a few elites, instead of supporting struggling health services and education systems. Ms. Madonsela’s office had received a series of allegations that the Guptas, a wealthy Indian family with deep business ties in South Africa (the Guptas have denied wrongdoing), had successfully pressured the president and other top officials into removing or appointing ministers of state-owned entities, “resulting in improper and possibly corrupt award of state contracts and benefits to the Gupta family’s businesses.”
State capture is not a condition endemic to post-apartheid South Africa. The so-called Operation Car Wash investigation in Brazil, for example, revealed secret, illicit relationships on the scale of state capture.
So what’s to be done in countries that face the threat of state capture?
First, as in South Africa, conduct a high-profile investigation run by elements of the government not yet captured. Though the United States has no office of the public protector, several federal government watchdog agencies could flex their investigative powers. Mr. Trump already culled as many as 17 inspectors general, but other agencies, including the Congressional Research Service, Government Accountability Office or the Congressional Budget Office, could step up.
