Transnational Capitalism makes a groundbreaking contribution to the lively debate on how communist legacies have shaped both political and economic changes after 1989—and how these legacies have interacted with a variety of external actors, most importantly the European Union (EU) that emerged by the late 1990s as the main external driver of internal policy change.” —Milada Vachudova, University of North ... Read moreCarolina at Chapel Hill ""This book makes an important contribution to the scholarly literature by enriching theories of state capacity, which tend to emphasize narrowly the advantages of state capacity for economic reform. This study instead provides nuance to such theories by showing that state capacity can be a ‘double-edged sword.’ On the one hand, states with high capacity can use this capacity to promote market-oriented behavior and generate more efficient outcomes. On the other, it can be used to shield critically important firms from restructuring. A further strength of this book is the extraordinary richness of the empirical discussions on the restructuring of East European steel after communism. The process tracing is done with such meticulous care that it leaves the reader with no doubt of the author’s very clear understanding and accurate characterization of the steel industry and its process of reform. Hence the book is not only useful for theorizing on state capacity, it is also a valuable resource for those wanting to understand better the historical record of heavy industry’s restructuring in the region.” —Hilary Appel, Claremont McKenna College Show Less