Contents

List of Figures and Tables xi

Preface and Acknowledgements xiii

Notes on the Contributors xv

Introduction: Theories of the State 1

Colin Hay and Michael Lister

Defining the state 4

The concept of the state 9

Recent developments in state theory 13

Beyond the state? 14

Structure of the book 15

Further reading 20

1 Pluralism 21

Martin Smith

The roots of pluralism 22

The rise of American pluralism 25

The reformulation of pluralism 28

Developments in British pluralism 29

Developments in contemporary pluralism 31

Conclusion 36

Acknowledgements 37

Further reading 37

2 Elitism 39

Mark Evans

Classical elitism 41

The classical elitists in perspective 43

Modern elitist perspectives - from radical elitism to the statists 44

The statists and the governing elite 47

The modern elitists in perspective 49

Contemporary elitist approaches 50

In summary 57

Further reading 58

3 (What’s Marxist about) Marxist State Theory? 59

Colin Hay

Marxism and the state 60

A genealogy of the state in Marxist theory 65

Conclusions 76

Further reading 78

4 Public Choice 79

Andrew Hindmoor

Public choice 81

Public choice, market failure and state failure 83

Forms of state failure 86

The critique of public choice 92

Public choice without prejudice 94

Conclusion 96

Further reading 97

5 Institutionalism 98

Vivien Schmidt

From the ‘old institutionalism’ to the ‘new institutionalism’ 99

Rational choice institutionalism 102

Historical institutionalism 104

Sociological institutionalism 107

Discursive institutionalism 109

Conclusion 114

Further reading 117

6 Feminism 118

Johanna Kantola

Feminist contributors 119

Criticisms of feminist perspectives on the state 126

Current feminist debates 131

Conclusion 134

Further reading 134

7 Green Theory 135

Matthew Paterson, Peter Doran and John Barry

Green critiques of the state 136

Disempowerment and democracy 142

A green anarchism? 143

Greening the state? 146

Conclusions 152

Further reading 154

8 Poststructuralism 155

Alan Finlayson and James Martin

Locating poststructuralism 155

Laclau and Mouffe: the impossibility of the state 161

Destabilizing state sovereignty 163

Foucault, power and governmentality 166

Conclusions 170

Further reading 171

9 Globalization and the State 172

David Marsh, Nicola J. Smith and Nicola Hothi

The globalization debate 172

Unpacking the relationship between economic

processes, discourse(s) and policy outcomes 178

Conclusion 189

Further reading 189

10 The Transformation of the State 190

Georg Sorensen

Introduction 190

Economic transformation: the effects of globalization 191

Political transformation: towards multi-level governance 194

The transformation of community 196

The transformation of sovereignty 199

The connection to theories: interpretations of state

transformation 202

Changes in statehood 204

Conclusion: new debates in the wake of state

transformation 207

Further reading 208

11 Governance, Government and the State 209

B.

Understanding the so-called shift from government

to governance 210

The resilience of institutions 214

Governance, the state and political power 220

Conclusion 221

Further reading 222

12 Public/Private: The Boundaries of the State 223

Matthew Flinders

The topography of the state 225

The state: complexity, accountability and depoliticization 233

Shifting sands: the boundaries of the state 244

Further reading 247

Conclusion 248

Michael Lister and David Marsh

Changing theories of the state: has there been a convergence? 248

The role of the state: challenges and responses 254

What would a more sophisticated conceptualization of the state look like? 256

Future directions 260

Bibliography 262

Author Index 296

Subject Index 302

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

1.1 State revenue as a percentage of GDP: OECD, EU15, USA,

Australia, 1965-2000 2

1.2 State expenditure as a share of GDP: selected OECD

countries 3

5.1 Scholars’ use of the four new institutionalisms: rational choice (RI), historical (HI), sociological (SI) and discursive (DI) 116

10.1 The modern and the postmodern state

12.1 Delegated governance and PPPs: an overview 227

Tables

The characteristics of epistemic communities and policy communities

Beyond structuralism vs instrumentalism

Vote Trading

The four new institutionalisms

Models of governance

A comparative review: examples of delegated or ‘para-statal’ bodies

European quasi-autonomous agencies and independent financial institutions

Depoliticization tactics

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