Helmut Willke

In the five years since the outbreak of one of the worst global financial crises, systemic risk has become a buzzword and developed into an acute threat. But what exactly is this concept, and ought it to be considered an economic or a political phenomenon? This volume draws upon political economy as an approach to analyze the concept of systemic risk as well as corresponding dilemmas of political order, legitimacy, and expertise. The resulting discussion posits major consequences for the political governance of financial systems in the increasingly interconnected world of the twenty-first century.

?Wozu benötigen gegenwärtige Nationalstaaten Einrichtungen des Regierens? Die Frage scheint naiv und trivial zu sein, aber der Anschein täuscht. Denn ob, und wenn ja, in welchem Umfang und in welchen Hinsichten Regieren notwendig sei, ist eine in den betroffenen Wissenschaften – von Philosophie über Politikwissenschaft und Soziologie bis zur Politischen Ökonomie – höchst umstrittene Frage. Ebenso offensichtlich ist, dass das, was unter Regieren verstanden wird, im Laufe der geschichtlichen Epochen und mit der Veränderung der Formen von Gesellschaft sehr unterschiedlich ausfällt.?

The global financial crisis has uncovered disastrous gaps in the governance of capitalism. This timely book argues for encompassing and intelligent forms of political governance of capitalism to mitigate against the possibility of future global systemic risk. This path-breaking book highlights that systemic risks emerge from a globally operating financial industry that is not only disconnected from the real economy but also allowed to hide in 'shadow banking' practices. Governance based on national regimes fails to cover 'finance-led' global capitalism. The authors argue that the risk of systemic meltdown will reappear unless intelligent governance regimes are installed, combining legally binding rules and civil society pressures to restore the balance between risk-taking and accountability. They illustrate the goal is 'resilient' capitalism in which the rules of the game are set by politics and knowledge-based discourse. Political Governance of Capitalism will prove invaluable for graduate and post-graduate students interested in economy, political science, political economy, globalization, global governance, sociology, and financial sciences.

The prospects of global governance depend on reaffirming the separation of private morals and public interests against the allures of all fundamentalisms. This path-breaking book expounds the idea of a disenchanted world composed of nation states and global functional systems. The nation state is losing some of its regulatory prerogatives and, at the same time, extending its legitimacy base in 'chains of legitimacy' to transnational institutions. There is neither a global democracy nor a global government. Therefore, establishing alternative forms of legitimacy, accountability and participation in a secular world seem mandatory. Helmut Willke examines the resurgence of moral reasoning in global affairs, driven by various fundamentalisms, that indicates a real danger of a regression of democracy. The separation of private morals and public policies, this book argues, remains the basis of global aspirations of democracy.Governance in a Disenchanted World takes into account globalization as a precondition for modern forms of governance and uses the global financial crisis to demonstrate the delusions of public morality and the virtues of democratic resilience. Researchers, lecturers and postgraduate students in the fields of political science, governance theory, global governance, sociological theory, political philosophy, legal studies, and global finance will find this essential book an invaluable resource.

In the wake of globalization, national governments are becoming increasingly interdependent, and knowledge is arguably becoming the most valuable form of capital. Helmut Willke's "Smart Governance" offers a new perspective on global governance from the vantage point of a global knowledge society. Employing a case study of the global financial system and an analysis of several governance regimes, Willke contends that markets, legal systems, and morality must evolve to cope with uncertainty, build capacities, and achieve resilience. "Smart Governance" will change the way economists, historians, and political scientists view international cooperation.