The silent partner: Business associations and state in Western Europe (Netherlands, England, Germany)

This dissertation examines the complex nature of the relationship between two actors in Western European society: organized business and the state. This dissertation is particularly concerned with how this relationship, once a cornerstone of corporatism, has fared in the aftermath of corporatism, and the rise of the European Union. This dissertation poses two basic questions: (1) How may partnership between organized business and the state be characters in the post-corporatist era? In what ways has this relationship adapted to meet changing political and economic realities? Can we still speak of a basic long-term and active partnership between capital and the state? (2) What is the role of the European Union in this relationship? Is the nation-state still a critical locus of activity for business? Have state-business coalitions emerged to defend national interests in the European arena? Or do business and the state often find themselves on opposing sides of EU debates?; This dissertation will examine state-business association relations in three Western European countries: The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. This dissertation employs both a qualitative and quantitative approach in analyzing business associations and their relationship with the state. After presenting a detailed case history of each state, I discuss business-state relations further, using the results of an original 2001 survey sent to business associations in each of the countries.; This project seeks to contribute to the literature on state-society relations, and further the debate on the interaction of the state and capital. This project hopes to shed light on the evolving role and status of the nation-state, within the context of the increasingly powerful European Union. Lastly, this project seeks to reinsert a political element back into analyses of organized business; a series of debates which have become increasingly economic and/or organizational in nature.