Neoliberalization by Evaluation: Explaining the Making of Neoliberal Evaluative State

Starting from the late seventies neoliberalism has emerged as the new global hegemonic par-adigm. Several studies demonstrated that different factors facilitated the global spread of neoliberalism, but little attention has been paid to the role played by evaluation both in legitimizing the neoliberalization of the state and in explaining the resilience of neoliberalism. The article argues that evaluation is a strategy of action which is able to emphasize the adaptive capacity of neoliberalism to different socio-political con-texts and the neoliberal purpose to depoliticize public action. The contribution aims to illustrate how eval-uation works on a twofold level. On the one hand, evaluation is a tool of global governance that acts nor-matively to homogenize states’ action consistently with some neoliberal values, such as competitiveness and economic efficiency. On the other hand, to conform to such values, variegated forms of evaluation are implemented by each state in order to introduce market rationality in non-economic domains, such as ed-ucation and health system. Referring to some empirical cases, these two overlapping processes are termed as the "evaluated state" and "evaluative state". As a result, neoliberalization by evaluation is a process in-volving the elevation of market-based principles and techniques of evaluation to the level of state-endorsed norm

The longue durée of a tempestuous marriage : the multi-faceted crisis of democratic capitalism.

Are democracy and capitalism incompatible? In the end, this is the crucial question of Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism1 by Wolfgang Streeck. According to the author, the present economic, financial, and public debt crisis is just the last chapter of the intricate relationship between democracy and capitalism

Neoliberalization by Evaluation: Explaining the Making of Neoliberal Evaluative State

Starting from the late seventies neoliberalism has emerged as the new global hegemonic par-adigm. Several studies demonstrated that different factors facilitated the global spread of neoliberalism, but little attention has been paid to the role played by evaluation both in legitimizing the neoliberalization of the state and in explaining the resilience of neoliberalism. The article argues that evaluation is a strategy of action which is able to emphasize the adaptive capacity of neoliberalism to different socio-political con-texts and the neoliberal purpose to depoliticize public action. The contribution aims to illustrate how eval-uation works on a twofold level. On the one hand, evaluation is a tool of global governance that acts nor-matively to homogenize states’ action consistently with some neoliberal values, such as competitiveness and economic efficiency. On the other hand, to conform to such values, variegated forms of evaluation are implemented by each state in order to introduce market rationality in non-economic domains, such as ed-ucation and health system. Referring to some empirical cases, these two overlapping processes are termed as the "evaluated state" and "evaluative state". As a result, neoliberalization by evaluation is a process in-volving the elevation of market-based principles and techniques of evaluation to the level of state-endorsed norm

Technocrats in (the crises of) the state. Political change and state transformations in Italy

Technocracy is one of the main issues in contemporary social sciences scholarship. While many au-thors have written on, among others themes, the rise of technocracy, the concept and definition of technocracy, or the typologies of technocratic governments, the specific question of the relation between technocracy (and technocrats) and state transformations has been less explored. Through the study of the Italian case, we analyze the role of technocrats in three critical junctures (since the early 1980s to the present), and in light of the intertwined process of state transformation and neoliberal-ization. The paper thus provides for a long-term analysis of technocracy and the state, asking when, how, and in what conditions technocrats not only came to hold top-government positions, but also concurred to redefine intra-state institutional relations especially as regards the strengthening of ex-ecutive power

Methodological changes and challenges in the measurement of freedom of information. An analysis of the Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House indexes

The article analyses the main methodological challenges of the two most important indicators in measuring freedom of the press around the world. Freedom House (FH) and Reporters Without Borders (RWB) have become references for studies that go beyond freedom of the press and their importance forces us to analyze what the methodological aspects are that determined these methodologies and which are omitted. The results of this study make it possible to determine that the indicators of Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House present serious methodological deficiencies that, although they have tried to correct, continue to be the source of numerous controversies, such as the absence of mechanisms to protect journalists in their measurement instruments

Covid-19 Pandemic and the Fiscal Strategy of the International Monetary Fund: Towards New Directions in the Global Political Economy?

This article seeks to contribute to the analyses of the impact of the Covid-19 on the global political economy. It does so through a qualitative content analysis of the key policy documents published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since the outbreak of the pandemic crisis. The IMF has been, historically, one of the main designers of international macroeconomic governance. The paper focuses on fiscal policy, which retains a central place in the strategy of the IMF to deal with the pandemic and especially for the post-pandemic recovery phase. The analysis of the documents of the IMF contributes (i) to appreciate the interpretation of the nature of the pandemic crisis through the lenses of a prominent international financial institution, (ii) to explore the policy strategy outlined to deal with the pandemic emergency, (iii) to assess possible changes at the level of policy, and accordingly, future directions in global political economy. Evidence suggests that fiscal stimulus, public investment and planning will likely have a prominent position in the future directions of the IMF policy advice

Technocrats in (the crises of) the state. Political change and state transformations in Italy

Technocracy is one of the main issues in contemporary social sciences scholarship. While many authors have written on, among others themes, the rise of technocracy, the concept and definition of technocracy, or the typologies of technocratic governments, the specific question of the relation between technocracy (and technocrats) and state transformations has been less explored. Through the study of the Italian case, we analyze the role of technocrats in three critical junctures (since the early 1980s to the present), and in light of the intertwined process of state transformation and neoliberalization. The paper thus provides for a long-term analysis of technocracy and the state, asking when, how, and in what conditions technocrats not only came to hold top-government positions, but also concurred to redefine intra-state institutional relations especially as regards the strengthening of executive power

Mudanças metodológicas e desafios na medição da liberdade de informação. Uma análise dos índices Repórteres Sem Fronteiras e Freedom House

O artigo analisa os principais desafios metodológicos colocados pelos dois indicadores mais importantes para medir a liberdade de imprensa no mundo. Freedom House (FH) e Repórteres Sem Fronteiras (RSF) tornaram-se referência para estudos que vão além da liberdade de imprensa, e sua importância nos obriga a analisar os aspetos metodológicos que determinam essas metodologias e que são omitidos. Os resultados deste estudo, ao analisar-se a avaliação dos países latino-americanos nos índices RSF e FH, nos permitem determinar que esses instrumentos apresentam graves deficiências metodológicas que, embora se tenham tentado corrigir, continuam a ser fonte de inúmeras controvérsias, como a ausência de mecanismos de proteção dos jornalistas em seus instrumentos de medição