Transportation and the State: Governing the Public Domain

Product Description


Transportation and the State explores the role of the emerging national state in the 19th century as an organiser of territory and a governor of infrastructure. It offers a comparative historical analysis of eight industrialising nation-states and discusses their role in the democratisation and economic development of the industrialising world since the post-Napoleonic era.

Hans Keman and Jaap J. Woldendorp provide a comprehensive analysis of how nation-states have regulated the economy and society from the 19th century to the present day, with particular focus on the development and operation of railway systems. They demonstrate how states define and direct infrastructure and railway systems as part of the public domain. By exploring the impact of the railways on the evolution of the national state, Keman and Woldendorp reveal the complex interactions between the state, society and the economy, and how these are situated within their historical context. Taking a diachronic empirical approach, they challenge common misinterpretations around the role of the state and argue for a revision and reformulation of its current format and capacities.
Drawing together the academic fields of political science, economics and economic history in an innovative way, this book will be of particular interest to scholars and students looking to expand their understanding of the ways these disciplines interlink. It will also be a helpful read for policy-makers working on improving transport infrastructure in different nations.



Review


'This unique and impressive study constitutes a major contribution to the comparative and historical analysis of nation-states on democratization and economic development. The original findings are based on excellent theoretical reflections and persuasive empirical analysis that provides a compelling examination of the sustainable role of the state on the implementation of the railway systems in eight countries. This book is to be commended both for what it says and for what it suggests. One would therefore like to see this book in the hands of many political scientists, economists, and historians.'
--Ferdinand Müller-Rommel, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Germany


'Hans Keman and Jaap Woldendorp's wonderful book journeys through four countries-Australia, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands-to show the surprising ways in which state rulers and railway barons have used trains and railways to mould state and society. They show convincingly that the contemporary (nation) state has its organizational and institutional roots in the 19th century. A highly readable and deeply original take on the origins of the modern state. A must-read.'
--Liesbet Hooghe, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US and European University Institute, Italy


'In their well composed book, Keman and Woldendorp present a strong argument for the key role of the state in developing the public domain. They analyse painstakingly how modern railway systems emerged in a set of Western democracies on the basis of state--society interactions. As infrastructure is essential to economic and social welfare, the state, they show convincingly, has been the focus of policy-making and implementation resulting in the penetration of the railway everywhere. Drawing upon different models and the comparative method, this study is a major achievement in historical institutional enquiry.'
--Jan-Erik Lane, University of Geneva, Switzerland and the Public Policy Institute in Belgrade, Serbia


About the Author


Hans Keman, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and
Jaap J. Woldendorp, Formerly Associate Professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands