Soft Power and Freedom under the Coalition

Emma Bell is senior lecturer in British Studies at the Université de Savoie where she teaches courses on British history and politics, focusing particularly on neoliberal consensus politics. Her research on different aspects of state authoritarianism attempts to understand policy in its wider social and political context. She has published widely in France and the UK. Her last book Criminal Justice and Neoliberalism (2011) focused on penal authoritarianism under the New Labour governments. She is the current coordinator of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control.

"A fascinating exploration case by case, act by act, and in both foreign and domestic policy of how a shrunken, negative, corporate-friendly definition of freedom came to dominate Coalition thinking and dash the hopes of those who hoped that May 2010 might turn out to be a genuinely 'liberal moment' for the UK." Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London, UK "The Coalition Government promised a new era of liberty to replace the dark night of New Labour. Emma Bell contrasts the claims made by Coalition leaders with the policies they actually delivered, and argues that in most areas the continuities with Labour are more marked than the changes. This is a challenging, provocative study which deserves to be widely read and discussed." Andrew Gamble, University of Cambridge, UK "This book provides a sharply observed and sobering analysis of the Coalition's legacy. Emma Bell's analysis meticulously exposes the lie that this Coalition is, or ever was, interested in decentralising power and encouraging individual freedom. It shows with impressive precision and accuracy how the most vulnerable have been cruelly and harshly punished for a economic mess that has been created by a power hungry elite. The result has been a gradual, brutal, reversal of the post-war consensus to restore levels of inequality that Margaret Thatcher could never have dreamed of." David Whyte, University of Liverpool, UK

• Acknowledgements List Of Relevant UK Legislation Introduction: A Liberal Manifesto 1. Decentring The State Power-Sharing And Democratic Government The Governance Of Freedom Governing Through The 'Big Society' 2. Empowering The People Empowerment Through Welfare Reform Trapped In Poverty Muscular Liberalism And Welfare Muscular Liberalism And Multiculturalism Moral Liberalism? 3. Legislating For Freedom Taming Big Brother? Balancing Liberty And Security? Reconciling Freedom And Justice? 4. Economic Policy: From Small State To Big Business The Politics Of Austerity Corporate Welfare Light-Touch Regulation A Solid Coalition Of Interests Constructing A New Common Sense 5. Exporting Soft Power Soft Power And Corporate Imperialism Europe And Soft Power 6. Solving The Paradox Of Liberal Politics Liberal Authoritarianism In The Conservative Tradition Liberal Authoritarianism And The Liberal Democrats The Statecraft Of Neoliberal Governmentality Neoliberal Ideology And Authoritarianism Conclusion: New Directions For Liberalism? Bibliography Index