Description
Book SynopsisTaming the Regulatory State incisively analyses the regulatory top-down regimes that are currently dominant and in crisis. Taking a critical perspective, the book offers an account of the inherent vulnerability of the regulatory state caused by one-sided economic thinking and the predominance of governing through hard regulation.
Regulatory governance is inclined to eliminate transparency and downgrades the importance of social forces. One striking case that exposes these underlying tensions is the activity of the state-run international investment funds. This volume sets the Norwegian Pension Fund - Global (formerly the Norwegian Petroleum Fund) into this context and shows how the attempt to regulate through ethical guidelines is an illuminating example of an effort, however imperfect, to revive politics and ethics in areas where the market focus usually obscures other considerations.
This state-of-the-art book will be invaluable for students and scholars of political science and political economy and will also provide an engaging read for civil servants and policymakers.
Trade Review'. . . offering a concise and illuminative account of the "regulatory state". Particularly impressive is its excellent contextualisation of the birth and spread of a regulatory paradigm as well as its potential impact equally on traditional welfare concerns and emerging problems involving the environment. . . it provides a good introduction into regulatory politics. Its historical and intellectual background to this transition is superb and offers insights for the uninitiated and knowledgeable alike. Moreover, it is excellent in its sustained description of the potential problems of regulation and the ways it may be "tamed" for achieving broader social and the ethical objectives. . . a welcome addition to the current interest on regulation. . . it provides readers with a comprehensive description of regulation and the ways in which it may be improved.' -- Peter Bloom, In-Spire, Journal of Law, Politics and Societies
'Professor Veggeland's ambitious study of the regulatory state is an exceptionally timely and apposite analysis. It combines theoretical, historical, and empirical perspectives on the evolution of state regulation of the economy over the past century with an emphasis on the past thirty years. It covers issues such as the rise and fall of indicative and central planning (in the context of democratic capitalism), the loss of national sovereignty in the era of European and global integration, and new theories and practice in public administration. Rich with contemporary cases it will contribute to the "agonizing reappraisal" of policy trends in western democracies.' -- Eric S. Einhorn, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, US
'It is not often that the experience of a Northern European semi-periphery speaks directly to a core European, and indeed increasingly global, problematic. Taming the Regulatory State
is just such an achievement, combining a comprehensive treatment of the European governance literature with a keen eye for the political as well as ethical dimensions of contemporary state re-structuring. A signally important book.' -- Olivier Kramsch, Radboud Universiteit, the Netherlands
Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. The Arrival of the Regulatory State – and its Exit? 2. Political Economy: The Background of the Regulatory State 3. Post-Stagflation Management Strategies 4. Taming Vulnerability and Organizational Dynamics 5. The Regulatory State: How Democratic Is It? 6. Social Capital in the Regulatory State: Nordic Lessons 7. Regionalization in the Regulatory State 8. Cross-border Regionalization in the Regulatory States of the North 9. A Case of Regulatory Taming in Norway: From Government Petroleum Fund to Ethical Pension Fund – Global References Index
