Russia and Development

Russia and Development PDF

Author: Charles Buxton

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-12-11

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1780325177

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Unique and insightful, this book takes a look at Russia's development through the Tsarist and Soviet periods. Rather than make the more familiar comparisons between Russia and the West, Russia and Development focuses on political and social mobilization in adjacent Central Asia. It examines the role of local government and civil society in development, as well as popular responses to the policies of Putin and Medvedev aimed at modernizing Russia and forging a new Eurasia alliance in Russia's 'development neighbourhood'. The book uses local sources and case studies to pose important questions about the role of empire, revolution, nationalism and democratization in the twenty-first century. With unique insider knowledge, Charles Buxton ultimately places Russia's current development model in an international context, where Russia is increasingly becoming a competitor to Western-led development practices. Essential reading for anyone interested in the region or development thought and practice.

Contemporary Capitalism and Civil Society

Contemporary Capitalism and Civil Society PDF

Author: Toshio Yamada

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-08-15

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 981130517X

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This book is devoted to analyzing contemporary capitalism both in Japan and in the world economy by using the theoretical framework of the French régulation theory and by revisiting the theory of civil society in postwar Japan. The Japanese theory of civil society proposed unique thinking about “freedom and equality” and “human rights” in the postwar era but could not help to come up with effective concepts for an economic analysis of that capitalism of the period. On the other hand, the régulation theory born in the 1970s is well known by its definition of postwar capitalism as Fordism, based on the elaboration of a new conceptual framework, but it soon proved unable to directly explain Japan’s experience by that central concept of Fordism. Inspired by consideration of Japanese civil society and also by the regulationist framework, the author has forged new analytical concepts such as “companyism” to understand Japanese capitalism including the recent “lost decades”, and he elaborates more carefully the concepts of “growth regime” and “institutional change” to grasp the dynamics of the world economy including today’s neoliberal trend. The original benefits of the book consist in 1) reviving a Japanese theory of civil society in the postwar period, 2) applying the régulation theory to the analysis of contemporary Japan, and 3) offering theoretical reflections on the conception of the world economy. Consequently, the author pays special attention to the relationship between the political and the economic as well as regulationist tools and the theory of civil society’s perspective. The principal message of the book is that capitalism or the market economy must be supported by a sound civil society.

Civil Society, Capitalism and the State

Civil Society, Capitalism and the State PDF

Author: Colin Tyler

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2012-11-30

Total Pages: 451

ISBN-13: 1845405560

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Civil Society, Capitalism and the State presents a critical reconstruction of the social and political facets of Thomas Hill Green's liberal socialism. It explores the complex relationships Green sees between human nature, personal freedom, the common good, rights and the state. It explores Green's analysis of free exchange, his critique of capitalism and his defence of trade union activity and the cooperative movement. It establishes that Green gives only grudging support to welfarism, which he saw as a conservative mechanism in effect if not conscious design. It is shown that he believes state provision of welfare to be justified only to the extent that peasants and the proletariat lack a culture and institutions which enable them to assert themselves against abusive landlords and capitalists. Ultimately, it is shown that Green's guiding ideal is the creation of a eudaimonically-enriching kingdom of ends, which favours the creation of a dynamic and free society driven by mass participation through decentralised social and political institutions. This book builds on Colin Tyler's The Metaphysics of Self-realisation and Freedom (2010), although it can also be read as a freestanding work.

Democracy and the Capitalist State

Democracy and the Capitalist State PDF

Author: Graeme Campbell Duncan

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1989-03-02

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780521280624

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This book examines one of the key issues in the analysis of the capitalist state: its relationship with democracy. To what extent can a capitalist state be democratised? Where and how do democratic institutions intervene in the management and control of capitalism? These questions and more are the subject of this book.

The Capitalist State and the Construction of Civil Society

The Capitalist State and the Construction of Civil Society PDF

Author: Anne Berg

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-07-10

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 3319524550

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This book challenges the idea that a sharp boundary should be drawn between the state and civil society. Although this idea is extremely common in modern capitalist societies, here it is turned on its head through a study of the ways in which public funding from the 1870s to the 1990s has enabled and shaped collective action in Swedish popular education. Popular education has generally been seen as independent of government control, with strong connections to popular and labour movements; in this volume, Berg and Edquist narrate a new story of its rise by analysing how a government grant system was constructed to drive its development. A key element in this government policy was to create and protect popular education as an autonomous phenomenon, yet making it perform state functions by regulating its bureaucratic make-up and ideological content. The book will appeal to scholars and students of history, education, and sociology, particularly those with an interest in the workings of the capitalist state as well as the history of education.

State Theory

State Theory PDF

Author: Bob Jessop

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 654

ISBN-13: 074566735X

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This volume develops a novel approach to state theory. It offers a comprehensive review of the existing literature on the state and sets a new agenda for state research. Four central themes define the scope of the book: an account of the bases of the operational autonomy of the state; the need to develop state theory as part of a more general social theory; the possibilities of explaining 'capitalist societalization' without assuming that the economy is the ultimate determinant of societal dynamics; and a defence of the method of articulation in theory construction. In developing these issues, Bob Jessop both builds on and goes well beyond the view presented in his earlier books, The Capitalist State (1982) and Nicos Poulantzas (1985). The result is a highly original statement which will become a center-point of discussion. The volume confirms the author's standing as one of the most important post-War Marxist state theorists.

Capitalism and the Emergence of Civic Equality in Eighteenth-Century France

Capitalism and the Emergence of Civic Equality in Eighteenth-Century France PDF

Author: William H. Sewell Jr.

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2021-04-28

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 022677046X

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"William H. Sewell, Jr. turns to the experience of commercial capitalism to show how the commodity form abstracted social relations. The increased independence, flexibility, and anonymity of market relations made equality between citizens not only conceivable but attractive. Commercial capitalism thus found its way into the interstices of this otherwise rigidly hierarchical society, coloring social relations and paving the way for the establishment of civic equality"--

State Capitalism

State Capitalism PDF

Author: Joshua Kurlantzick

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-03-08

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0199385726

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The end of the Cold War ushered in an age of American triumphalism best characterized by the "Washington Consensus:" the idea that free markets, democratic institutions, limitations on government involvement in the economy, and the rule of law were the foundations of prosperity and stability. The last fifteen years, starting with the Asian financial crisis, have seen the gradual erosion of that consensus. Many commentators have pointed to the emergence of a powerful new rival model: state capitalism. In state capitalist regimes, the government typically owns firms in strategic industries. Not beholden to private-sector shareholders, such firms are allowed to operate with razor-thin margins if the state deems them strategically important. China, soon to be the world's largest economy, is the best known state capitalist regime, but it is hardly the only one. In State Capitalism, Joshua Kurlantzick ranges across the world--China, Thailand, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and more--and argues that the increase in state capitalism across the globe has, on balance, contributed to a decline in democracy. He isolates some of the reasons for state capitalism's resurgence: the fact that globalization favors economies of scale in the most critical industries, and the widespread rejection of the Washington Consensus in the face of the problems that have plagued the world economy in recent years. That said, a number of democratic nations have embraced state capitalism, and in those regimes, state-backed firms like Brazil's Embraer have enjoyed considerable success. Kurlantzick highlights the mixed record and the evolving nature of the model, yet he is more concerned about the negative effects of state capitalism. When states control firms, whether in democratic or authoritarian regimes, the government increases its advantage over the rest of society. The combination of new technologies, the perceived failures of liberal economics and democracy in many developing nations, the rise of modern kinds of authoritarians, and the success of some of the best-known state capitalists have created an era ripe for state intervention. State Capitalism offers the sharpest analysis yet of what state capitalism's emergence means for democratic politics around the world.

Civilizing the State

Civilizing the State PDF

Author: John Restakis

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2021-11-02

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1550927361

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The liberal state is dead, long live the partner state Across the world, the liberal nation state is on its knees. Rising inequality, deep political polarization, and the pervasive power of corporations are tearing apart the social contract and threatening to crush democracy. Civilizing the State traces the history and development of the liberal state and its changing role from the enabler of capitalism to protector of citizen welfare, to its hollowing out and capture by corporate and elite interests rendering it unfit to address the compounding crises of inequality, injustice, ecological collapse, and loss of legitimacy. Author John Restakis explores citizen-powered alternatives and experiments in co-operation, deep democracy, solidarity economics, and commoning from Spain, India, the global peasant movement, and the emerging stateless democracy of Rojava rising from the wreckage of the Syrian civil war. The final section views the current crisis as an opportunity to reimagine the state not as handmaid to predatory elites but as a partner state that promotes equity, economic democracy, co-operation, and human thriving, driven by deep democracy and a fully sovereign civil society. Incisive, penetrating, and inspirational, this is essential reading for all engaged citizens with a stake in co-creating a better future for all.