The Active Underbelly of Developmentalism: the power of the state in the twenty-first century

Industrial policy has become one of the buzzwords of state interventionism in the political economy of states. Continuity and change in social contracts, the increasing complexity of multi-level governance in the world economy, and the need for greater degrees of co-ordination and greater amounts of capital in key industrial sectors all require a reinvigorated understanding of the state and of state power. This article seeks to develop such an understanding of one state form: the Developmental State. Through an analysis of the Argentine development experience under Nestor Kirchner (2003-07), this article will reveal the need to develop sophisticated understandings of the state and associated concepts of capacity and autonomy to fully grasp its role in the development process, with a particular focus on industrial policy. Such examination will draw attention to the changing nature of industrial policy, and how this is linked to changes in the state as a result of pressures from below (changing constellation of social forces) and from above (changing nature of global forces).