Nebuleuse and the 'internationalization of the state' in the UK? The case of HM Treasury and the Bank of England

Abstract

Notions of the 'internationalization of the state' in neo-Gramscian writings are vague, ambiguous and lack empirical grounding. Here it is argued that the 'internationalization of the state' can only be understood through a focus on the social basis of the state. A case study of the UK reveals that HM Treasury and the Bank of England have been penetrated by transnational economic interests and that they subsequently act on behalf of these interests. In this respect the current prevailing global discourse or 'Washington consensus' of sound money and open markets is primarily generated, sustained and reinforced by 'internationalized' or 'transnationalized' state agencies such as HM Treasury or the Bank of England, which act on behalf of internationally mobile forms of capital. There is, however, a complex, mutually reinforcing relationship between the prevailing 'Washington consensus' and the policies and practice of these national state agencies.