Internationalized Statism

Abstract

This chapter sets out the analytical framework of ‘internationalized statism’ developed and applied in the book. Although the West is said to be living in an age of internationalized ‘economic (neo-)liberalism’, where capital flows have been liberalized, a ‘new statist’ literature argues that the role of the state has not declined as it adapts and finds novel instruments and forms of action to govern economies. Building on new statist studies, the chapter introduces the concept of ‘internationalized statism’: policies to use foreign states to govern domestic economies. It develops the concept, notably by distinguishing between the extent and form of internationalized statism. It underlines that whilst most political economy studies have focused on private international capital flows, states themselves can use liberalization of financial markets to cross borders, offering new opportunities for policy makers in recipient states to find allies and resources for economic governance Policies towards equity investments bynon-Western Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) offer an empirically and theoretically important example of internationalized statism: SWFs are large and growing; most SWFs are in non-democratic countries; equity purchases offer the potential for overseas influence or control over companies. The chapter then sets out the book’s research design: four country case studies are chosen because of variations in different relevant explanatory factors. It concludes that the concept of internationalized statism contributes to understanding how national policy makers use state economic internationalization to govern their domestic economies.