Abstract

The two dominant narratives on the changing role of the state - that of its transformation and that of its adaptation - face a number of understanding recent developments. The article argues that they fail to account for changes in the scope of state action, and that arguments about state transformation or adaptation provide normative and conceptual maps that help shape changes to the state. Using recent examples from advanced industrialised society, it demonstrates that notions of transformation and adaptation have helped create a post-national, post-political, post-social competitive state.