The Importance of Space in Comparative Capitalism Analyses: A Comparison of Varieties of Capitalism and Variegated Capitalism Approaches

Year 2023, Volume: 73 Issue: 2, 811 - 836, 30.12.2023

Ferda Uzunyayla

https://doi.org/10.26650/ISTJECON2023-1272574

Abstract

In comparative capitalism (CC) discussions, the main research focus of different approaches (varieties of capitalism [VoC], post-VoC, variegated capitalism) is formed along the axis of state-capital relations. When considering world market integration, interrelations and tensions between different scales, and state spatial restructuring, the exploration of the diverse patterns of accumulation also requires a focus on the spatial dimension of state-capital relations. In this respect, this study aims to examine how space is handled in capitalist diversity approaches by comparing them in terms of their limitations and the possibilities they offer in their spatial analysis. The variegated capitalism approach is argued to provide a more complex analytical framework due to how it involves the spatial dimension at multiple scales to deal with the analysis of state spatial interventions by focusing on contradictions related to the production of space and also by considering the uneven spatial development in the analysis of capitalist variation.

JEL Classification : P1 , P51

Keywords

Varieties of capitalism approach, Variegated capitalism approach, Spatial restructuring, Geographical variability

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