Economic liberalization has been contested and defeated in France to an unparalleled extent in comparison to other leading political economies in Western Europe. Levy offers a historical explanation, centered on the legacies of France's postwar statist or dirigiste economic model. Although this model was dismantled decades ago, its policy, party-political, and institutional legacies continue to fuel the contestation of liberalizing reforms today. Contested Liberalization offers a comprehensive analysis of French economic and social policy since the 1980s, including the Macron administration. It also traces the implications of the French case for contestation in East Asia and Latin America. Levy concludes by identifying ways that French liberalizers could diminish contestation, notably by adopting a more inclusive process and more equitable allocation of the costs and benefits of liberalizing reform. This book will interest scholars and students of political economy and comparative politics, especially those working on economic liberalization, French politics, and the welfare state.

Economic liberalization has been contested and defeated in France to an unparalleled extent in comparison to other leading political economies in Western Europe. Levy offers a historical explanation, centered on the legacies of France's postwar statist or dirigiste economic model. Although this model was dismantled decades ago, its policy, party-political, and institutional legacies continue to fuel the contestation of liberalizing reforms today. Contested Liberalization offers a comprehensive analysis of French economic and social policy since the 1980s, including the Macron administration. It also traces the implications of the French case for contestation in East Asia and Latin America. Levy concludes by identifying ways that French liberalizers could diminish contestation, notably by adopting a more inclusive process and more equitable allocation of the costs and benefits of liberalizing reform. This book will interest scholars and students of political economy and comparative politics, especially those working on economic liberalization, French politics, and the welfare state.

This Handbook offers a comprehensive treatment of transformations of the state, from its origins in different parts of the world and different time periods to its transformations since World War II in the advanced industrial countries, the post-Communist world, and the Global South. Leading experts in their fields, from Europe and North America, discuss conceptualizations and theories of the state and the transformations of the state in its engagement with a changing international environment as well as with changing domestic economic, social, and political challenges. The Handbook covers different types of states in the Global South (from failed to predatory, rentier and developmental), in different kinds of advanced industrial political economies (corporatist, statist, liberal, import substitution industrialization), and in various post-Communist countries (Russia, China, successor states to the USSR, and Eastern Europe). It also addresses crucial challenges in different areas of state intervention, from security to financial regulation, migration, welfare states, democratization and quality of democracy, ethno-nationalism, and human development. The volume makes a compelling case that far from losing its relevance in the face of globalization, the state remains a key actor in all areas of social and economic life, changing its areas of intervention, its modes of operation, and its structures in adaption to new international and domestic challenges.

This Handbook offers a comprehensive treatment of transformations of the state, from its origins in different parts of the world and different time periods to its transformations since World War II in the advanced industrial countries, the post-Communist world, and the Global South. Leading experts in their fields, from Europe and North America, discuss conceptualizations and theories of the state and the transformations of the state in its engagement with a changing international environment as well as with changing domestic economic, social, and political challenges. The Handbook covers different types of states in the Global South (from failed to predatory, rentier and developmental), in different kinds of advanced industrial political economies (corporatist, statist, liberal, import substitution industrialization), and in various post-Communist countries (Russia, China, successor states to the USSR, and Eastern Europe). It also addresses crucial challenges in different areas of state intervention, from security to financial regulation, migration, welfare states, democratization and quality of democracy, ethno-nationalism, and human development. The volume makes a compelling case that far from losing its relevance in the face of globalization, the state remains a key actor in all areas of social and economic life, changing its areas of intervention, its modes of operation, and its structures in adaption to new international and domestic challenges.

"A vibrant civil society is often portrayed in the manner of a rich uncle: highly desirable, but the product of good fortune rather than one's own actions. Civil society emerges from the distant past, its features fashioned by the tectonic forces of history and culture. In the face of such powerful and quasi-immutable determinisms, state authorities are all but helpless: they can little more turn a 'bad' or 'weak' civil society into a 'good' or 'strong' one than transform lead into gold. Indeed, the process is far more likely to operate in the opposite direction, with state intervention crushing or displacing once-vibrant civic networks. To the extent that the state authorities can make any kind of positive contribution, it is primarily through acts of self-negation -- by rolling back the frontiers of the state, so that fledgling societal and local institutions may find their place in the sun".

"The state is not necessarily the enemy of civil society, however; nor is the absence of the state enough to foster the good civil society. Rather, the state can -- indeed, in many instances, must -- play an active role in forging and sustaining vibrant, effective societal and local institutions. Just as societal and local institutions can enhance the capacities of the state, supportive state intervention can enhance the capacities of civil society. Thus, the challenge is not to have more state or less state, but rather to connect the state and civil society in mutually beneficial ways -- to deploy state powers to create, sustain, regulate, and readjust the good civil society".

This book assesses the changing nature of state intervention in the economies of the affluent democracies. Against a widespread understanding that contemporary developments, such as globalization and new technologies, are pressing for a rollback of state regulation in the economy, the book shows that these same forces are also creating new demands and opportunities for state intervention. Thus, state activism has shifted, rather than simply eroded.

State authorities have shifted from a market-steering orientation to a market-supporting one. Chief among the new state missions are: repairing the main varieties of capitalism (liberal, corporatist, and statist); making labor markets and systems of social protection more employment-friendly; recasting regulatory frameworks to permit countries to cross major economic and technological divides; and expanding market competition at home and abroad.

Because the changes from market steering to market support are so controversial and far-reaching, state officials often find themselves making choices that produce clear winners and losers. Such choices require a capacity to act unilaterally and decisively, even in the face of substantial societal opposition. As a result, state activism, autonomy, and occasionally imposition remain essential for meeting the challenges of today's globalizing economy.