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Asatryan, G. (2023). Statecraft and the Political Economy of Capitalism: by Scott G. Nelson, Joel T. Shelton, 2023, Palgrave Macmillan, $102.05 (hardcover), 211 pages, ISBN: 978-3-031-15970-1
The state dies when it ceases to function. The term “statecraft” appeared in 1642 concerning the concept of the art of government. Political economy is one of the most important social sciences, the subject of which is the connection between the market and the state, the individual and the society. In addition to economic methods, political economy uses various techniques from philosophy, political science, and sociology. Political economy has always been at the forefront of research on the most acute, urgent, and significant problems of modern society and the state, economics, and politics. Scott G. Nelson and Joel T. Shelton’s Statecraft and the Political Economy of Capitalism try to answer the most pressing questions of modern capitalism and the necessary Statecraft principles that correspond to current features and problems. This book aims to provide arguments for the concept of the public functions of the state in the context of state-building. To date, there are many reasons why governments skip the concepts of the public when developing state acts. If there is no protection, then the state government apparatus does not seek to create conditions of prosperity for the public. Relations between countries are created for security purposes, and society is often limited under the pretext of necessity. Professors of Virginia Tech and Elon University, Nelson and Shelton note the interdisciplinary nature of the research and, as a result, the use of various research methodologies. The political and economic concepts are challenging to distinguish analytically, and the following chapters mention this concept in particular. The book deserves attention and is of interest, for its methodology and conclusions. In general, the authors stress the crisis nature of statecraft concerning the transformations of modern capitalism, the growth of populism, and the need to solve the problems of migration and climate change. Thus, the authors note that there are reasons that communities face difficulties and lose the opportunity and desire to move. Social policy should meet the requirements of a society where traditions and loyalty to the place of residence are stronger than the desire to move. According to the authors, there are also problems in education, including primary education. Young people spend a lot of time studying. Nevertheless, educational institutions, as well as workplaces, are not sufficient examples of democracy. Teachers are focused on teaching and using democratic standards in the classroom. However, this contradicts democratic senses since educational institutions are built according to the hierarchy. And students are treated as consumers and not politically engaged citizens. Critical research in state educational institutions is limited to parents and school boards. Students are told that they live in a democratic state, but they are taught to be only employees and consumers. The authors note that “finding that singling out globalization as a primary cause of the turn to liberal politics misses the mark” (94). Now such advanced European and US democracies are facing accumulated problems. Critical challenges to the authorities threaten society, whose well-being the government should improve. These issues include environmental disasters, health problems, income inequality, racial injustice, migration problems, and the rise of authoritarian populism. Considering the cultural, social, and psychological situation, these problems require competent public administration. Another problem to which the authors’ attention is devoted is the growing populism in the politics of developed capitalist liberal democracies. To some extent, populism in Western countries resulted from changes in national governance structure during the trends toward political and economic liberalism.