Contested Liberalization
Historical Legacies and Contemporary Conflict in France

Levy reveals why economic liberalization is so contested in France, with a comprehensive explanation of economic and social policy since the 1980s.

Jonah D. Levy (Author)

9781009283342, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 April 2023

350 pages, 28 b/w illus. 4 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.622 kg

'This is far and away the best single volume account, in English or French, of the liberalization project in France and its challenges and limitations. In this tour de force, Levy provides a comprehensive, acute and often brilliant analysis of forty years of contested liberalization 'without liberals', culminating in a detailed account of the Macron presidency and its inept and rapid retreat from liberalization.' Chris Howell, Oberlin College

Economic liberalization has been contested and defeated in France to an unparalleled extent in comparison to other leading political economies in Western Europe. Levy offers a historical explanation, centered on the legacies of France's postwar statist or dirigiste economic model. Although this model was dismantled decades ago, its policy, party-political, and institutional legacies continue to fuel the contestation of liberalizing reforms today. Contested Liberalization offers a comprehensive analysis of French economic and social policy since the 1980s, including the Macron administration. It also traces the implications of the French case for contestation in East Asia and Latin America. Levy concludes by identifying ways that French liberalizers could diminish contestation, notably by adopting a more inclusive process and more equitable allocation of the costs and benefits of liberalizing reform. This book will interest scholars and students of political economy and comparative politics, especially those working on economic liberalization, French politics, and the welfare state.

1. Three legacies of dirigisme: the contested politics of economic liberalization in France
2. From the dirigiste state to the social anesthesia state
3. Liberalization without liberals: the French right's ambivalence toward economic liberalization
4. Skinny politics: reforming alone
5. Jupiter's limits: from initial achievements to the yellow vest crisis
6. Rinse and repeat: a mitigated mea culpa and continued contestation
7. 'Whatever it costs: Macron's statist response to the COVID-19 crisis
8. Beyond contestation
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]