buy sb out

[Tanit]

Under these circumstances, mercantilism, or state directed economic development, became for the externally politically supported regimes the legitimating basis for their intervention in the economy and the restructuring of government business relations. Over time their survival became dependent upon economic success. Instead of having to 'buy out' rent-seeking strong men as the fledging national regimes in Africa had to do, they could at first command authority and resources to a degree sufficient to protect policy-makers from clients demanding payouts.


[NB: the speech marks are in the original text]
I can't get the meaning of 'buy out' in this sentence.

I found in the dictionaries: buy sb out =
1. pay sb for their share in a business;
2. pay money so that sb can leave an organization;
3. purchase the entire stock.
To me, none of them seems appropriate.

What's the the meaning of buy out? Do the inverted commas change it?
Thank you in advance!

[Anglika]

To my eye, 1 and 2 are essentially the same, and this is what is being used as a metaphor by the author. Someone is being paid off.

[MikeNewYork]

Under these circumstances, mercantilism, or state directed economic development, became for the externally politically supported regimes the legitimating basis for their intervention in the economy and the restructuring of government business relations. Over time their survival became dependent upon economic success. Instead of having to 'buy out' rent-seeking strong men as the fledging national regimes in Africa had to do, they could at first command authority and resources to a degree sufficient to protect policy-makers from clients demanding payouts.


[NB: the speech marks are in the original text]
I can't get the meaning of 'buy out' in this sentence.

I found in the dictionaries: buy sb out =
1. pay sb for their share in a business;
2. pay money so that sb can leave an organization;
3. purchase the entire stock.
To me, none of them seems appropriate.

What's the the meaning of buy out? Do the inverted commas change it?
Thank you in advance!

When someone buys somebody out, they pay them a sum of money for something they own or something they have a right to. The author put "buy out" in quotation marks because the strong men didn't really own or have a right to what they were paid to leave behind.

[Tanit]

Someone is being paid off.

The author put "buy out" in quotation marks because the strong men didn't really own or have a right to what they were paid to leave behind.

Thank you very much!

[MikeNewYork]

Thank you very much!

You're welcome.