Kirjahaku

After the end of the Cold War, liberalism emerged as the world's dominant political-economic ideology, and economic liberalism seemed to have achieved global hegemony. In Liberalism in Illiberal States, Mark Vail acknowledges the dominance of economic liberalism, but argues that its implementation in specific countries is always unique and dependent upon powerful historical factors. He focuses on France, Germany, and Italy--countries that many scholars do not view as "liberal" at all--and contends they have in fact developed distinct forms of national liberalism, of which their postwar models of capitalism were merely one manifestation. Vail argues that these states' political economies have been shaped by centuries-old liberal traditions, which have continued to inform national alternatives to transnational neoliberalism in the contemporary era. He presents case studies that show how nationally-specific interpretations of liberalism are flexible and responsive to local realities, especially in times of economic uncertainty. By demonstrating how variegated the practice of economic liberalism actually is, Liberalism in Illiberal States will reshape our understanding of liberal political economy in the contemporary world.

After the end of the Cold War, liberalism emerged as the world's dominant political-economic ideology, and economic liberalism seemed to have achieved global hegemony. In Liberalism in Illiberal States, Mark Vail acknowledges the dominance of economic liberalism, but argues that its implementation in specific countries is always unique and dependent upon powerful historical factors. He focuses on France, Germany, and Italy--countries that many scholars do not view as "liberal" at all--and contends they have in fact developed distinct forms of national liberalism, of which their postwar models of capitalism were merely one manifestation. Vail argues that these states' political economies have been shaped by centuries-old liberal traditions, which have continued to inform national alternatives to transnational neoliberalism in the contemporary era. He presents case studies that show how nationally-specific interpretations of liberalism are flexible and responsive to local realities, especially in times of economic uncertainty. By demonstrating how variegated the practice of economic liberalism actually is, Liberalism in Illiberal States will reshape our understanding of liberal political economy in the contemporary world.

The narrative of postwar Germany’s moral and political dilemma, as a nation unwilling to assume a leadership role in the international community, despite its size and economic might, for fear of becoming dominant, is well rehearsed. Germany’s postwar power has been bounded by the rules and requirements of international institutions and its own constitution. Economic prosperity quickly became a proxy for the conventional exercise of power. Yet, recent crises have made the country’s ambivalence to power difficult to sustain. Scholz’s declaration of a Zeitenwende (end of an era) launched questions about Germany’s international role, not least in supporting Ukraine against a Russian aggressor. In this timely interrogation of the German state, Mark Vail traces Germany’s reluctant embrace of power from nineteenth-century industrialization and state formation to its current self-re-examination and reconsideration of national identity and international responsibility.