Banking Regulation and Globalization

Doesglobalization erode the nation state's capacity to act? Are nationstates forced to change their policies even if this goes against thedemocratic will of their electorates? How does government actionchange under conditions of globalization? Questions like these havenot only featured highly in political debates in recent years, butalso in academic discourse. This book seeks to contribute to thatdebate. The general question it addresses is whether globalizationleads to policy convergence--a central, but contested topic in thedebate, as theoretical arguments can be advanced both in favor of andagainst the likelihood of such a development. More specifically, thebook contains detailed empirical case studies of four countries (theUnited States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland) in apolicy area where state action has been particularly challenged bythe emergence of world-wide, around-the-clock financial markets inthe last few decades, namely that of the regulation and supervisionof the banking industry.

Basedon careful analysis of historical developments, specific challenges,the character of policy networks and institutions, and theirinteraction in the political process, this book argues that nationstates still possess considerable room for maneuver in pursuing theirpolicies. Even if they choose supranational coordination andcooperation, their national institutional configurations stillfunction as filters in the globalization process.

Thisbook is of particular value to readers interested in the politics andpolicies of globalization, the interaction of business communitiesand the political system in different countries, and students ofcomparative politics interested in detailed case studies ofpolicy-making.