Constructing Neoliberalism presents a rich analysis of the shift to neoliberal economic policies in four Anglo-American democracies - Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand - over the course of the 1980s and 1990s. This period witnessed a dramatic shift away from traditional post-war consensus policies of active state economic intervention, public ownership, and full employment toward those informed by an ideological commitment to deregulation, privatization, entrepreneurialism, and freer trade. Jonathan Swarts argues that this transformation was not simply a marginal adjustment in existing economic policies, but rather the result of political elites seeking to reshape what he calls their societies' "political-economic imaginaries." Swarts demonstrates that this shift cut across traditional party lines, and that in all four cases, the result was a new set of intersubjective norms about appropriate economic policies, the role of the state in the economy, the expectations and aspirations of citizens, and the very nature of an advanced industrial democracy in a globalizing world.

"In Constructing Neoliberalism, Jonathan Swarts offers four strong case studies of how the neoliberal shift played out in the Anglo-American world. This book will be received as an important contribution to scholarship on these countries, on the broad historical story of neoliberalism, and on constructivist theorizing overall." -- Craig Parsons, Department of Political Science, University of Oregon

About the Author
Jonathan Swarts is an associate professor of Political Science in the Department of Social Sciences at Purdue University North Central.


Book Information
ISBN 9781442646469
Author Jonathan Swarts
Format Hardback
Page Count 312
Imprint University of Toronto Press
Publisher University of Toronto Press
Weight(grams) 620g
Dimensions(mm) 238mm * 160mm * 25mm