Neoliberal globalization and domestic accommodation: Combining efficiency and legitimacy

Abstract

Globalization is not a unique issue. The market economy has been constantly globalized since its formation in Europe in the late fifteenth century. However, its neoliberal nature is very contemporary. At the international level, measures to open more markets and to liberalize trade have been negotiated and incorporated into the rules of the WTO, the IMF, and the regional bodies of economic cooperation. At the domestic level, neoliberal reform packages have been tried or imposed externally particularly in East Asian countries after the financial crisis in the late 1997. This study defines the nature of neoliberal globalization and identifies its limitations and pressures upon domestic political economy. It also reviews briefly the ‘third way’ politics in Europe and another ‘third way’ experiment in China to find some critical lessons in responding to neoliberal reform pressures.