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Abstract

In the late twentieth century, the rise of neo-liberal economics appeared to some to signal the withdrawal of the nation state from key areas of economic life in the industrialized world. However, this was always an illusion. The recent financial crisis has demonstrated clearly that states remain the actor of last resort when the business system begins to collapse. International efforts at coordination have been dwarfed by the fiscal policies of states to stimulate their economies. These revival efforts reveal the underlying differences which remain between states and how economic policy-making in crisis responds most directly to threats to the national system. This chapter examines these processes and how they can be combined with continued commitment to a neo-liberal global order and efforts at global coordination.