Globalisation, the State and regional Australia: a case study of the Shoalhaven region

Globalisation is often presented, or perceived, as an unstoppable economic force that confounds the efforts and capacities of governments to act against it. In fact, the expansion of transnational capital and the growth of capital accumulation have been actively facilitated by the state. Neoliberalism has played a central role, as the policy orthodoxy of globalisation: it has been essential in creating the economic structures that support and extend globalisation. Far from riding roughshod over national policies, neoliberalism has provided states with the means to reshape national policies in globalisation’s image. Neoliberalism and globalisation have strengthened and consolidated one another, via the decisions and actions of the state.