Variegated Neoliberalism: EU varieties of capitalism and International Political Economy (Ripe Series in Global Political Economy) - Softcover

‘Huw Macartney’s outstanding book represents a major step forward in our understanding of how neoliberalism has played out in contemporary Europe. It is also a very significant contribution to the growing literature on the role of ideas in political economy.’ - Ben Rosamond, Professor, University of Warwick, UK

‘Not since Kees van der Pijl's The Making of an Atlantic Ruling Class have we had such a fine-grained exploration of how exactly transnationally-oriented classes engage with states and economies in order to cement a genuinely hegemonic order. Huw Macartney has done the research, and we are the wiser for it. His argument is one that every student of the contemporary global order will need to consult.’ - Randall Germain, Professor, Department of Political Science, Carleton University, Canada

We know from the cost of the 2007-09 crisis that transnational finance does not operate in a realm removed from our everyday lives.

Variegated Neoliberalism explains why its inequalities persist and how they undermine more social-minded policies towards finance in the EU.

The book suggests that large financial groups capitalize on broader changes in capitalism and emerging assumptions about what benefits society at large. Those pushing these political-economic projects present policy change to cope with financial globalization as a new common sense. Macartney's argument then contests these assumptions through an analysis of the spatial relations of transnational actors, and the political claims made within finance and research communities.

Rather than relying on umbrella concepts like 'transnational capitalist class', Variegated Neoliberalism emphasises the national-domestic foundations for transnationalization and what we commonly understand as neoliberalism. The book provides comparative analyses of global and European banking communities, and economic research centres, in the UK, France, and Germany. It explains the constellations underpinning the current neoliberal order in global finance, and the realms of possibility for challenges to it.