The Reconfigured Institutional Architecture of the State

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Maman ◽  
Zeev Rosenhek
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Ministry Of Finance ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Institutional Architecture ◽  
Macroeconomic Management

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics that have marked the reconfiguration of the Israeli state in the course of the transition to a neoliberal regime. In analyzing the transformation of the state and its relationships with the economy, it first assesses changes in the institutional architecture of the state and then discusses the modes of action of pivotal state agencies and the patterns of relationships among them. Specifically, the ascendency of the two most powerful state agencies in charge of macroeconomic management—the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel—is examined, as well as the ways in which these actors promoted the adoption of particular reforms as key factors in the institutionalization of the neoliberal regime. The chapter claims that the incremental liberalization of the Israeli political economy was fundamentally molded by actions and interactions among state agencies striving to further their position within the political–economic field.

Neoliberalism as a State Project

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Incremental Change ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Ministry Of Finance ◽  
Neoliberal Restructuring ◽  
Institutional Architecture

This book explores the politics, institutional dynamics, and outcomes of neoliberal restructuring in Israel. It puts forward a bold proposition: that the very creation of a neoliberal political economy may be largely a state project. Correspondingly, it is argued that key political conflicts surrounding the realization of this project may occur within the state. Neoliberal restructuring and the institutionalization of permanent austerity are dependent on reconfigured power relations between state actors and are manifested in a new institutional architecture of the state. This architecture, in turn, is the context in which efforts to change social and employment policies play themselves out. The book begins by construing the coming of neoliberalism as a set of concrete and far-reaching changes in the power and modes of operation of the key players in the political economy. These include neutralizing or undermining veto players and enabling the ascendance of two state agencies—the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank—which gained greatly augmented authority and autonomy. These reconfigurations were set in motion by state initiatives that combined punctuated and incremental change. Then, attention shifts to changes in specific social and labor market policies, to reveal a close elective affinity between programmatic neoliberal changes and the proactive drive of the Ministry of Finance to enhance its control over public spending and policy design. The book explores triumphant neoliberal reforms but also reforms that were blocked, undermined, or overturned by opposition, emphasizing the importance of reformers’ capacity to translate temporary achievements into entrenched strategic advantages.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Ideational Change ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Change State ◽  
Neoliberal Restructuring ◽  
Institutional Architecture

The introduction to the volume offers a state-centered perspective on the political and institutional dynamics of neoliberal restructuring, which we argue is complementary or superior to other explanations (globalization, capitalist interests, and ideational change). State agencies advance neoliberal policies to increase their autonomy and power vis-à-vis other state and non-state actors. Hence, key political conflicts surrounding the realization of this project may occur within the state. Neoliberal restructuring and the institutionalization of permanent austerity are dependent on reconfigured power relations between state actors and are manifested in a new institutional architecture of the state. Following this theoretical positioning, the chapter applies this perspective to the neoliberal transformation of Israel in broad strokes, and outlines the other contributions to the volume.

Varieties of Obamaism: Structure, Agency, and the Obama Presidency

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 793-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence R. Jacobs ◽  
Desmond S. King
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Economic

President Obama's record stands out among modern presidents because of the wide range between his accomplishments and the boldness of his as-yet unfulfilled promises. Obamaism is a complex phenomenon, with multiple themes and policy ends. In this paper we examine the administration's initiatives drawing upon recent scholarship in political science to consider the political, economic and institutional constraints that Obama has faced and to assess how he has faced them. Our key theme is the importance of integrating the study of presidency and public leadership with the study of the political economy of the state. The paper argues against personalistic accounts of the Obama presidency in favor of a structured agency approach.

The Political Economy of Post-Independence India—A Review Article

1989 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhil Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Newly Industrialized Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Balance Of Forces ◽  
The Third World

Economists and political scientists have become increasingly interested in the political economy of India during the past decade and particularly during the past three or four years. The titles under review will be valuable not only to India specialists but also to comparative scholars because of the intriguing mix of conditions found in India. More like a continent than a country in its diversity, India is in some ways very similar to densely populated, predominantly rural and agricultural China, differing most perhaps in the obstinacy and depth of its poverty. In the predominant role played by the state within an essentially capitalist economy, it is closer to the model of Western social democracies than it is to either prominently ideological capitalist or socialist nation-states; like other countries in the “third world,” the state in India plays a highly interventionist developmental role. Finally, since Independence it has pursued, more successfully than most nation-states in Latin America and Asia, policies of importsubstituting industrialization and relative autarchy. In terms of its political structures, India differs from most newly industrialized countries (NICs) in that it generally continues to function as a parliamentary democracy. The federal political system creates an intriguing balance of forces between central and the regional state governments, which are often ruled by opposition parties with agendas, ideologies, and organizational structures quite different from those of the central government.

The Saint with Indra's Sword: Khruubaa Srivichai and Buddhist Millenarianism in Northern Thailand

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Bowie
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
The State ◽  
Capital City ◽  
The Political ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Modern Context ◽  
A Charge ◽  
Social Causes

AbstractDespite a growing literature revealing the presence of millenarian movements in both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist societies, scholars have been remarkably reluctant to consider the role of messianic beliefs in Buddhist societies. Khruubaa Srivichai (1878–1938) is the most famous monk of northern Thailand and is widely revered as atonbun, or saint. Althoughtonbunhas been depoliticized in the modern context, the term also refers to a savior who is an incarnation of the coming Maitreya Buddha. In 1920 Srivichai was sent under arrest to the capital city of Bangkok to face eight charges. This essay focuses on the charge that he claimed to possess the god Indra's sword. Although this charge has been widely ignored, it was in fact a charge of treason. In this essay, I argue that the treason charge should be understood within the context of Buddhist millenarianism. I note the saint/savior tropes in Srivichai's mytho-biography, describe the prevalence of millenarianism in the region, and detail the political economy of the decade of the 1910s prior to Srivichai's detention. I present evidence to show that the decade was characterized by famine, dislocation, disease, and other disasters of both natural and social causes. Such hardships would have been consistent with apocalyptic omens in the Buddhist repertoire portending the advent of Maitreya. Understanding Srivichai in this millenarian context helps to explain both the hopes of the populace and the fears of the state during that tumultuous decade.

The Political Economy of Attention

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Axel Pedersen ◽  
Kristoffer Albris ◽  
Nick Seaver
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Online Publication ◽  
The Political ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Moral Concern ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Political Economic

Attention has become an issue of intense political, economic, and moral concern over recent years: from the commodification of attention by digital platforms to the alleged loss of the attentional capacities of screen-addicted children (and their parents). While attention has rarely been an explicit focus of anthropological inquiry, it has still played an important if mostly tacit part in many anthropological debates and subfields. Focusing on anthropological scholarship on digital worlds and ritual forms, we review resources for colleagues interested in this burgeoning topic of research and identify potential avenues for an incipient anthropology of attention, which studies how attentional technologies and techniques mold human minds and bodies in more or less intentional ways. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 50 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The Political Economy of Work and Welfare

2021 ◽  
pp. 422-444
Author(s):  
Micheál L. Collins ◽  
Mary P. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Welfare Regime ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sectoral Composition ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Institutional Architecture

The political economy of Irish work and welfare has dramatically changed over recent decades. Since the 1980s, Ireland has experienced two periods of high unemployment followed by two periods of full employment. Alongside this, we see considerable shifts in both the sectoral composition of the workforce and in the institutional architecture underpinning the labour market. Focusing on the last decade, this chapter contextualizes the Irish labour market in the Irish growth model, highlighting issues including occupational upgrading, low pay, gender composition, and migration. The chapter then explores links between this employment structure and Ireland’s changing welfare regime. It considers recent institutional changes, as the welfare regime shifted to a work-first form of activation, and the long-term sustainability of the social protection system. The chapter concludes by highlighting what we see as the core challenges for the political economy of work and welfare in Ireland.

To Protect and Kill: US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Management of Human–Wildlife Conflict, 1996-2011

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Green Criminology ◽  
Wildlife Conflict ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Conflicting Interests ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

AbstractHarms against nonhuman animals have become a significant concern in different disciplines (e.g., green criminology). This paper presents a multi-disciplinary discussion of one form of animal harm—wildlife harm—created by state agencies charged with protecting animals. Specifically, this issue is examined by reviewing the complex problems faced by theUSFish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is charged with competing objectives: between protecting economic and public health interests, and protecting wildlife. In managing the human–wildlife conflicts brought to its attention, theUSFWSmust often make tradeoffs between protecting economic and public health interests, and protecting wildlife. As the data reviewed here indicate, this leads theUSFWSto kill a large number of animals each year to protect economic and public health interests—more than 40 million animals since 1996. The political and economic factors that influence these killings, and how the state balances conflicting interests, are also examined.

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