This book offers a systematic and basic introduction to corporatism in the context of liberal democracies. Corporatism has been heralded as one of the most important concepts to have emerged recently in the social sciences. It has led to both theoretical or definitional work on the corporatist model, and to the application of the model to empirical studies. The literature on corporatism is extensive, diverse and complex, reflecting the wide-ranging importance of the model. In this introductory text, Peter Williamson draws together the central issues in corporatism and provides a critical guide to the theories and findings of work within the corporatist approach. Individual topics are linked to the wider concerns of representation, democracy, conflict and stability, and state and market in liberal democracies. Corporatist theory is explained and diversities of approach examined. It is contrasted with the pluralist model, and the methodological and theoretical issues of dispute between corporatists and pluralists are explored. Corporatism in Perspective is written for students in government and politics, political sociology, political economy, public policy and administration, and social policy and administration.

A new version of capitalism, grounded in technology and science, is spawning new forms of corporate power and organization that will have major implications for the twenty-first century. Technological creativity is thereby turned into a commodity in new corporate regimes that are primarily oriented toward research and intellectual appropriation. This phenomenon is likely to have major social, economic, and political consequences, as the new corporatism becomes ever more intrusive and rapacious through its control over technology and innovation. In his provocative book Technocapitalism, Luis Suarez-Villa addresses this phenomenon from the perspective of radical political economy and social criticism. Grounded in the premise that relations of power influence how human creativity and technology are exploited by the new corporatism, the author argues that new forms of democratic participation and resistance are needed, if the social pathologies created by this new version of capitalism are to be checked. Considering the new sectors affected by technocapitalism, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, bioinformatics, and genomics, Suarez-Villa deciphers the common threads of power and organization that drive their corporatization. These new sectors, and the corporate apparatus set up to extract profit and power through them, are imposing standards, creating business models, molding social governance, and influencing social relations at all levels. The new reality they create is likely to affect most every aspect of human existence, including work, health, life, and nature itself.

In the comparative study of Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria, Mikkel Mailand explores the roles of social partners in regulating work and welfare through corporatist arrangements. This insightful book illustrates how the frequency of tripartite agreements has either been stable or has increased since the Great Recession of 2008, in spite of challenges from trade unions’ loss of power and political developments. It will be an invaluable read for academics and students in industrial relations, political economy and other social science disciplines addressing the formulation of work and welfare related policies.

Corporatism is the third great ideolgy of modern social and political organization and it is one of the main organizing concepts used in comparative political analysis. This study traces corporatism in history, analyzes its modern practice and shows the rise of corporatism in the US.

What drove the horizontal spread of authoritarianism and corporatism between Europe and Latin America in the 20th century? What processes of transnational diffusion were in motion and from where to where? In what type of ‘critical junctures’ were they adopted and why did corporatism largely transcend the cultural background of its origins? What was the role of intellectual-politicians in the process? This book will tackle these issues by adopting a transnational and comparative research design encompassing a wide range of countries.

This illuminating book considers the roles of social partners in regulating work and welfare through corporatist arrangements in three countries - all of which have strong traditions for social partner involvement. In this comparative study of Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria, Mikkel Mailand illustrates how the frequency of tripartite agreements has either been stable or has increased since the Great Recession of 2008, in spite of challenges from trade unions' loss of power and political developments. He therefore demonstrates that social partners are still strong enough to be included in corporatist arrangements. Moreover the book posits that the economic crisis in a 30 year perspective appears a stronger explanatory factor for corporatist development than social partner strength, government strength and government ideology. Using qualitative methods to offer a nuanced insight into corporatism within these countries, Corporatism since the Great Recession will be an invaluable read for both academics and students in industrial relations, political economy and other social science disciplines addressing the formulation of work and welfare related policies.

This book is the first conceptual and comparative empirical work on the relation between corporatism and dictatorships, bringing both fields under a joint conceptual umbrella. It operationalizes the concepts of social and political corporatism, diffusion and critical junctures and their particular application to the study of Fascist-Era dictatorships. The book’s carefully constructed balance between theory and case studies offers an important contribution to the study of dictatorships and corporatism. Through the development of specific indicators in ‘critical junctures’ of regime change and institutionalization, as well as qualitative data based on different sources such as party manifestos, constitutions and constitutional reforms, expert commissions and the legislation that introduces corporatism, this book traces transnational sources of inspiration in different national contexts. By bringing together a number of both established and new voices from across the field, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of fascism, dictatorship and modern European politics.

This essential new book brings together world class scholars to provide a completely new comparative politics text. It offers a comprehensive reivew of the complete democratic process and provides a framework for measuring and evaluating contemporary democracy and democratic performance around the world.