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The State of the European Union pp 133–154Cite as

European Crisis Management and the Politics of Financialization

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Abstract

About a decade after the outbreak of the financial crisis, claims about the re-regulation of financial markets have not been realized by far. On the contrary, in some regards the political economic strategy of the EU has reoriented again towards pushing financial markets and financialization, which was the pathway before the financial crisis. This article seeks to explore these developments by taking stock of European financial and monetary policies and related processes of financialization. We will argue that there have been contested initiatives to stabilize the EMU, which go hand in hand with a stabilization or even resumption of financialization. To support our argument, we draw upon perspectives of critical political economy of European financial market capitalism which are useful in identifying contested policies and underlying power relations that are inscribed in the European integration process and, more specifically, in the management of the ongoing Eurozone crisis. Besides the European level, financialization continues to play an important role in the member states as well. Relevant areas are primarily the reorganization of social security provisions (above all pensions) and policies of privatization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Hans-Jürgen Bieling & Simon Guntrum

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  1. Hans-Jürgen Bieling
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Correspondence to Hans-Jürgen Bieling .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Stefanie Wöhl

  2. University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Elisabeth Springler

  3. University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Martin Pachel

  4. University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Bernhard Zeilinger

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Bieling, HJ., Guntrum, S. (2020). European Crisis Management and the Politics of Financialization. In: Wöhl, S., Springler, E., Pachel, M., Zeilinger, B. (eds) The State of the European Union. Staat – Souveränität – Nation. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25419-3_6

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