STATE, DEPENDENCE AND SUB-IMPERIALISM:

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POULANTZAS AND RUY MAURO MARINI

Abstract

his article aims to analyze the relationship between the State and social classes in the capitalist mode of production, based on the contributions of Nicos Poulantzas and Ruy Mauro Marini. The analysis initially focuses on Poulantzas' theory of the capitalist State, especially the notion of relative autonomy and the legal-political and ideological mechanisms that allow for the reproduction of class domination. By discussing the effects of isolation and representation of unity, the article highlights how the State presents itself as a universal instance while simultaneously concealing the structural contradictions of capitalism. In dialogue with Marxist Dependency Theory, the work examines the specificities assumed by the State in dependent capitalist formations, highlighting its function in mediating between fractions of the internal bourgeoisie and the interests of imperialist capital. Based on Marini's formulations, the category of sub-imperialism is also analyzed as an expression of the contradictory insertion of dependent capitalism in the monopolistic and financial phase of the world capitalist system, emphasizing the strategic role of the State in the reproduction of dependency and structural inequalities.