Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe

Jan Drahokoupil is a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. He obtained a PhD at the Central European University in Budapest. His recent publications include European Neoliberal Governance and Beyond (co-edited with Bastiaan van Apeldoorn and Laura Horn).

"This book develops a very coherent and rich analysis of the much-discussed process of transition from state socialism to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe. The author more than meets the challenge of finding something new to say about this topic, developing a novel approach based on a sophisticated account of structure, agency, and discourse; providing a new periodization of the steps in the transition in different societies; showing the interaction of economic and political forces in changing institutional and conjunctural contexts; identifying the key actors and forces that shape the transition and their crucial mediating role between foreign capital and states and domestic economic and political interests; and providing some insightful comments on varieties of transition. I recommend this book most warmly."Bob Jessop, Founding Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Lancaster University"The real innovation of Drahokoupil's approach lies in going beyond the opposition of national versus transnational explanations. His focus on the comprador sector as the site linking the two perspectives is very effective and helps to set an agenda for future studies, including on other world regions."Don Kalb, Professor, Central European University, Budapest & Utrecht University"Drahokoupil's book constitutes an advance in the understanding of the internationalization of states, societies and political economies. The book is well written and it provides provocative ideas on the forces of convergence in the international political economy and on the evolution of the competition state based on the insightful analysis of the Central and Eastern European countries."Laszlo Bruszt, Professor, European University Institute, Florence"Students of Eastern Europe’s transformation and transnational integration will read this book with great interest. The book offers rich empirical data and a convincing and sophisticated argument on how the interaction among state reformers, domestic interest groups and transnational corporations shaped the emergence of the region’s new transnational capitalism."Béla Greskovits, Professor, Central European University, Budapest"Students of Eastern Europe’s transformation and transnational integration will read this book with great interest. The book offers rich empirical data and a convincing and sophisticated argument on how the interaction among state reformers, domestic interest groups and transnational corporations shaped the emergence of the region’s new transnational capitalism."Béla Greskovits, Professor, Central European University Budapest 'This is an outstanding book. It is clearly written, has excellent documentation and bibliography and the argument is clearly put, well developed and organised. It is theoretically based and empirically substantiated and will contribute greatly to our understanding of the transformation process.' - Europe-Asia Studies, David Lane, University of Cambridge

• Introduction 1. Understanding convergence towards the competition state: The transnational constitution of domestic politics 2. The rise of the competition state: Towards the Porterian workfare postnational regime 3. Creating national capitalism against the odds: The internally oriented project in the Czech Republic 4. The internally oriented pathways in the early nineties: By default or by design? 5. The time of the comprador service sector: How Czechs ignited competition for FDI 6. Political support of the competition state: The comprador service sector and its allies 7. The investment promotion machines: Everyday politics and the multi-scalar constitution of the competition state. Conclusion. Bibliography