Neoliberal economic theories are powerful because their domestic translators make them go local, hybridizing global scripts with local ideas. This does not mean that all local translations shape policy, however. External constraints and translators' access to cohesive policy institutions filter what kind of neoliberal hybrids become policy reality. By comparing the moderate neoliberalism that prevails in Spain with the more radical one that shapes policy thinking in Romania, Ruling Ideas explains why neoliberal hybrids take the forms that they do and how they survive crises. Cornel Ban contributes to the literature by showing that these different varieties of neoliberalism depend on what competing ideas are available locally, on the networks of actors who serve as the local advocates of neoliberalism, and on their vulnerability to external coercion. Ruling Ideas covers an extended historical period, starting with the Franco period in Spain and the Ceausescu period in Romania, discusses the economic integration of these countries into the EU, and continues through Europe's Great Recession and the European debt crisis. The broad historical coverage enables a careful analysis of how neoliberalism rules in times of stability and crisis and under different political systems.

About the Author
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boston University

Reviews
"This book delivers a careful analysis of the national forces that determine what type of neoliberalism a country develops, looking at domestic, international, historical, and intellectual explanatory factors. The author offers a sophisticated advancement in understanding the political and economic forces that affect the world and how neoliberalism as a structure varies across nation-states. Excellent for collections on globalization, economics, and political movements and ideologies." --CHOICE



Book Information
ISBN 9780190600396
Author Cornel Ban
Format Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 234mm * 20mm