transform! yearbook 2023

Facing the State: Left Analyses and Perspectives

Explore the 9th edition of the transform! yearbook, delving into the social fabric of the modern nation-state and left strategies for transformation. Uncover the historical context of the state’s role and its impact on class dynamics, and dive into an analysis of the delicate balance between politics and economics.

The publication will soon be available in print from the Merlin Press  webshop.

transform! yearbook 2023 considers the class character of the contemporary nation-state, its measure of relative autonomy from capital, and the left’s strategies for transforming it. While neoliberalism has curtailed the state’s function as guarantor of public welfare, it has strengthened its role as organiser of global marketisation and finance. However, with the pandemic, the crucial necessity of public healthcare services became a burning issue for large sections of the population, and worker-led initiatives to transform production and protect the environment raised the question of the possible role of the state in socio-ecological transformation.

This year’s transform! yearbook addresses the following aspects:

  • State Theory
  • State Transformation and Its Effects
  • Rivalries at the International Level
  • Authoritarian Capitalist States
  • Country Case Studies
  • Marxist Christian Dialogue

 

Facing the State: Left Analyses and Perspectives
transform! yearbook 2023
David BroderEric CanepaHaris Golemis
Merlin Press

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
David Broder, Eric CanepaHaris Golemis: Facing the State: Left Analyses and Perspectives

State Theory
Dunja Larise: State Theory in ‘Western Marxism’ Revisited
Athena Athanasiou: Decentring the State
Michalis Spourdalakis: State Transformations: From the ‘Powerless’ to the ‘Entrepreneurial State’

State Transformation and Its Effects
Étienne Balibar: On the State, the Public, and the Common: Thoughts from the Pandemic
Hilary Wainwright: Transforming Production to Save the Planet: What Does This Mean for the Left and the State?
Ulrich Brand: The Role of the State in Social-Ecological Transformations: Some Theoretical Considerations and Current Observations
Panos Ramantanis: Repressive State Mechanisms and Biopolitical Practices in the Age of Covid-19: The Example of Greece
Ankica Čakardić: Who Cares? Neoliberalism, Informal Labour, and Life-Making
Steven Forti: The Extreme Right and the State: What Should the Left Do?

Rivalries at the International Level
Antonios Tzanakopoulos: The Left, the State, and International Institutions
Göran Therborn: The Capitalist State and the Looming Endgame
of Western World Domination. Interviewed by Haris Golemis
Walter Baier: National Self-Determination and European Integration Are Not Mutually Exclusive. Interviewed by Haris Golemis

Authoritarian Capitalist States
Boris Kagarlitsky: The State and Restoration
Gavin Rae: The Left and the Changing Authoritarian State in Capitalist Poland Country Case Studies
Alberto Garzón: State vs. Government: The Experience of Unidas Podemos in Spain
Aristides Baltas: The Greek State: Theory, History, Policies
Jukka Pietiläinen: Finland’s Left Alliance in Government
Mariana Mortágua: The Left and the State: The Case of the Portuguese Geringonça
Giulia Russo: The Redistribution of the Common in Serbia

Marxist Christian Dialogue

Franz Segbers: A Plea for a Left Religion Policy in Europe

Anniversary
Mario Amorós: Fifty Years After the Coup d’État in Chile: Salvador Allende, a Revolutionary for the 21st Century

Authors and Editors

Members and Observers of transform! europe