Bo Stråth is Professor at the Historiska Institutionen, Göteborg University. An expert on the modernisation of West European economies, his previous publications include The Politics of Deindustrialization (1987) and The Linguistic Construction of Class Identities (editor, 1990).

• Preface 1 MODERNISATION, CULTURE AND INSTITUTIONS: DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORIES IN ONE HEURISTIC FRAMEWORK Modernisation, Comparison and theorisation, Modernisation and crisis, The periods of crisis: an ideal type, Culture and power over problem resolution 2 GERMANY 3 SWEDEN 4 UNITED KINGDOM 5 JAPAN 6 CONCLUSIONS

Bo Stråth is Professor at the Historiska Institutionen, Göteborg University. An expert on the modernisation of West European economies, his previous publications include The Politics of Deindustrialization (1987) and The Linguistic Construction of Class Identities (editor, 1990).

• Preface 1 MODERNISATION, CULTURE AND INSTITUTIONS: DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORIES IN ONE HEURISTIC FRAMEWORK Modernisation, Comparison and theorisation, Modernisation and crisis, The periods of crisis: an ideal type, Culture and power over problem resolution 2 GERMANY 3 SWEDEN 4 UNITED KINGDOM 5 JAPAN 6 CONCLUSIONS

Bo Stråth is Professor at the Historiska Institutionen, Göteborg University. An expert on the modernisation of West European economies, his previous publications include The Politics of Deindustrialization (1987) and The Linguistic Construction of Class Identities (editor, 1990).

• Preface 1 MODERNISATION, CULTURE AND INSTITUTIONS: DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORIES IN ONE HEURISTIC FRAMEWORK Modernisation, Comparison and theorisation, Modernisation and crisis, The periods of crisis: an ideal type, Culture and power over problem resolution 2 GERMANY 3 SWEDEN 4 UNITED KINGDOM 5 JAPAN 6 CONCLUSIONS