State interventionism at a time of global chaos: some reflections on the logic of post-neoliberal statecraft

Paolo Gerbaudo

Chapter 5 in Globalization in a Turbulent Era, 2025, pp 77-91 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: A remarkable tendency of our times is the return of “state interventionism” after many decades during which it was widely assumed that we lived in a “market society” in which state intervention would be—and should be—kept to a minimum. Since the 2008 financial crisis and most clearly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, many governments around the world, particularly those of mega-states such as the US and China have contradicted this prediction, as they engaged in various forms of economic intervention, such as heavy industrial policy, trade protectionism, and competition for technological supremacy. These tendencies point towards a very different political economy to the one we have been used to during the years of high globalisation under the aegis of neoliberalism, and the return of the supremacy of politics and security over short-term economic concerns. Yet, we continue to lack a clear framework to make sense of these developments and how they fit in contemporary historical circumstances. To address these issues, this chapter highlights the need to revise many assumptions about international political economy, and the growing emphasis on security, rather than mere competitiveness as a key driver behind many policies.

Keywords: Hyper-globalisation; Hegemonic transition; Post-neoliberal statecraft; Industrial policy; Protectionism; Subsidies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035330492
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