State Power: A Strategic-Relational Approach

Bob Jessop presents an up-to-date account of his distinctiveapproach to the dialectics of structure and strategy in theexercise of state power. While his earlier work critically surveysother state theories, this book focuses on the development of hisown strategic-relational approach. It introduces its main sources, outlines its development, applies this approach to four casestudies, and sketches a strategic-relational research agenda. Thusthe book presents a comprehensive theoretical statement of theapproach and guidelines for its application.

Key features of the book include: an account of the authorstheoretical development
a review of recent developments in statetheory and the cultural turn in political economy
criticalstrategic-relational re-readings of major state theorists Marx onpolitical representation, Gramsci on the spatiality of state power, Poulantzas on the state as a social relation, and the laterFoucault on statecraft
applications of the strategic-relationalapproach to important issues concerning the contemporary state: itsgendered selectivity, the future of the national state, the statestemporal sovereignty, and the relevance of multi-scalarmeta-governance in Europe for the more general future of the state.The book concludes with recommendations for futurestrategic-relational research in political economy and statetheory.