Disentangling Empire and Decolonisation: State and Business Relations in Southern Africa, 1923–1975

Introduction

“Disentangling Empire and Decolonisation” investigates the evolution and entanglement of state-business relations in Southern Africa, specifically in Zambia (Northern Rhodesia), Malawi (Nyasaland), and Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), during the colonial and decolonisation periods (1923–1975). The dissertation focuses on how firms and states identified, managed, and responded to political risks and opportunities, especially in the context of property rights, corporate relocation, and economic sanctions.

I argue that the relationship between firms and states in Southern Africa was historically co-constitutive, with both actors deeply embedded in colonial structures and political shifts. Colonial control was initially exercised through private enterprises, and this history created enduring linkages where business and political legitimacy were deeply intertwined.

The thesis positions firms as political actors and adds to the growing literature that sees businesses not merely as an economic unit, but as a political agent capable of shaping and being shaped by governance structures. This perspective demystifies corporate strategies during both the height and decline of empire, including the transition to independence. By focusing on Southern Africa, the thesis brings much-needed empirical depth to an understudied region in business history. I also emphasize the agency of African states like Zambia and illustrate how non-Western actors navigated and shaped global capital flows.

Structure and Methodology

The dissertation is a compilation of four empirical research articles. It draws on extensive archival sources, including previously classified or secret government records. A total of six archives - spanning state, corporate, and hybrid sources - from the United Kingdom and Zambia were consulted. These included 143 volumes from the National Archives at Kew (UK), the National Archives of Zambia, and the corporate archives of Rio Tinto, the Tanks Archive, and the Guildhall Archive. Additionally, 1,999 items from financial press materials were accessed via the Gale Archive. Methodologically, I apply concepts/theories from business history, political economy, and international business studies, of regulatory capture, corporate political activity, obsolescing legitimacy, and economic statecraft.

The Papers

The first paper, co-authored with Klas Rönnbäck and published in Business History, studies the acquisition and redefinition of property rights of land and minerals in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland by the British South Africa Company (BSAC). Following the end of chartered rule by the BSAC in 1923, the company successfully negotiated with the British imperial government to maintain ownership of significant mineral rights. The results show that the BSAC was able to take advantage of political processes to acquire property rights during colonial rule. It is shown that the British imperial government privileged the interests of the BSAC over those of the public interest for at least five decades because it fell prey to regulatory capture. The results contrast those of previous research that claim that the British imperial government did not appreciate the value of the mineral rights or that the BSAC saw no prospect for development.

The second paper builds on the findings from Paper I and focuses on the decolonisation period. It examines the ostensibly voluntary transfer of mineral rights by the BSAC to the incoming African government in Northern Rhodesia. The central paradox that the paper seeks to explain is why the BSAC agreed to a settlement that represented about a tenth of the value they placed on the mineral rights. The findings show that the BSAC had a clear understanding that its mineral rights were likely to be obsolete with the new African regime – after independence. This anticipation was based on contemporary challenges to its claims to ownership and an understanding of the basis on which previous legitimisation had been renegotiated with the British imperial government and the settler dominated Northern Rhodesia government. Theoretically, I demonstrate how obsolescing political legitimacy can apply or play out in ex-ante settings, not just in ex-post contexts.

The third paper investigates a relatively underexplored phenomenon: the relocation of corporate headquarters from the UK to Southern Rhodesia by a British mining company, Tanganyika Concessions, between 1946 and 1952. This shift was not just bureaucratic but involved complex micropolitical negotiations among company executives, the British government, and external stakeholders. Key to this decision was a loosely aligned external interest group dubbed the “American Group,” whose financial standing (as sought after investors) gave it significant influence over the process. This article reveals the importance of non-formal networks and power dynamics in driving corporate change and emphasizes how strategic corporate decisions are embedded in broader geopolitical and economic contexts.

The final paper focuses on the responses of a third country - Zambia - to economic sanctions. It shows the country´s responses to economic sanctions imposed on the white minority regime of Southern Rhodesia for declaring independence without Britain's authorization during decolonisation. Zambia's interests and responses are geopolitically examined through transport linkages that reveal the tensions and competition of using or co-owning strategic assets. Previous research has emphasized the political aspects of Zambia being ideologically opposed to white minority regimes at the cost of its own interests. However, this paper shows that Zambia did not favour economic sanctions on Southern Rhodesia and preferred the use of military tools from the sender country - Britain - because it feared and understood the economic damage that it would suffer in the long run.

Conclusion

Collectively, the dissertation underscores the central role of legitimacy in shaping state-business relations. It shows how property rights are social constructs and outcomes of ongoing political negotiation. Their acquisition and redefinition reflected the evolving balance of power between firms, imperial authorities, and post-colonial governments. Firms were compelled to continually renegotiate their license to operate, particularly as colonial regimes gave way to nationalist administrations. 

My dissertation demonstrates how colonial-era strategies, such as regulatory capture, created political risks that materialized during decolonisation, and how some firms’ failure to adapt to shifting political contexts deepened their vulnerabilities. By bridging colonial and post-colonial perspectives, the dissertation reveals the persistence and transformation of economic institutions in Southern Africa. It makes an important contribution to business history and African economic history more broadly.

By connecting corporate strategies with broader geopolitical shifts, the thesis provides an in-depth understanding of the ways in which empire, decolonisation, and capitalism were deeply entangled and ultimately reconfigured.