Claus Offe and the Critical Theory of the Capitalist State

Jens Borchert is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Frankfurt, Germany.Stephan Lessenich is Professor of Sociology at the University of Munich and current Chairman of the German Sociological Association.

'This the first book to systemically reconstruct and extend the work of Claus Offe, who provided one of the most powerful analyses of the capitalist state among the first generation of contemporary critical state theorists. Offe was one of the only state theorists to analyse the ‘double bind’ of legitimation and accumulation and to explore how these contradictory demands on the capitalist state generate policy failure as a systematic feature of the capitalist state. The authors not only provide an excellent reconstruction and analysis of Offe’s critical state theory, but extend his insights to an analysis of the contemporary financial crisis of global capitalism.' - Clyde W. Barrow, Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley'This fascinating social analysis, with many intriguing qualities of a "whodunnit", creatively explores and systematically interrogates the work of the cheerfully eclectic, frequently contrarian, often misunderstood, conjuncturally sensitive, and always provocative Claus Offe, a seemingly permanent fixture yet moving target in diverse disciplines. While presenting almost everything you need to know about Offe, Jens Borchert and Stephan Lessenich organize their intellectual and political analysis around Offe’s distinctive contradiction-sensitive, relational analysis of the conflictual and improbably stable relation between democratic capitalism and the capitalist state, distinguish different phases in his intellectual and political biography as a critical social scientist and public intellectual who is always engaged with important issues, and provide valuable and provocative reasons for why we must continue to engage with Offe’s work. They show why this Offe is one that we should not refuse!' - Bob Jessop, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Lancaster University

• ForewordErik Olin WrightEditorial Note and Correspondence ListAcknowledgments1. Between the Lines of the State Theory Debate: Claus Offe’s "Cheerful Eclecticism2. The "Magic Triangle" of State, Capitalism, and Democracy3. The Relational Approach to State Theory: Central Theorems4. Traces of Impact: Claus Offe’s Reception in the Social Sciences5. Still Relevant after All those Years: Claus Offe’s Theory of the Capitalist State and the New Politics of AusterityIndex