Session 4 – Remnants of the welfare state?

What David Harvey (1989) influentially identified as a transition from managerialism to entrepreneurialism in urban governance has evolved into rich and varied debates on neo-liberalism. Although neo-liberalism can be broadly defined as discourses and practices that emphasise market relationships driven by logics of competition and effectiveness, it is now generally recognised that neo-liberalism comes in variations. This perspective is helpful for understanding how processes of neo-liberalisation have taken different trajectories in different countries and institutional settings. For example, Mustafa Dikeç points out in Badlands of the Republic (2007) how the established political traditions of the ‘republican state’ affect forms of neo-liberalisation and state restructuring in France. In the same vein, we might expect the strong tradition of the welfare state to influence neo-liberalism in other places. This implies that we should not expect the same consequences of neo-liberalisation in welfare state traditions, as in other – more often studied – contexts.

In this session, we seek to heed such calls for closer examinations of ‘actually existing’ and hybrid neo-liberalisms, and, particularly, to further critical investigations and discussions of how and with which implications neo-liberalism evolves and mutates with welfare state traditions. We welcome general, sectorial and topical contributions on the theme from the Nordic region and beyond.

Session organisers:
Helen Carter, Aalborg University, Denmark
Henrik Gutzon Larsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
Kristian Olesen, Aalborg University, Denmark