Globalisation and Labour Struggle in Asia

Reviews / Votes

'Phoebe Moore makes a fresh and important contribution to the study of global political economic struggles, deploying an analysis of South Korean labour in relation to capitalist development and globalization, hegemony and passive revolution. This is agency-centred critical International Political Economy at its best, addressing one of the great labour struggles of our time.' Barry Gills, Professor of Global Politics, Newcastle University 'Phoebe Moore has produced here a rich and engaging study of South Korean political economy, which deserves to be read widely. It acts as a useful stimulus towards continued exploration of the social relations and political struggles which underpin and shape contemporary development processes.' Nicola Phillips, Professor of Political Economy, University of Manchester 'In this empirically rich and conceptually innovative book, Phoebe Moore convincingly demonstrates that neo-liberal restructuring in South Korea had not been a hegemonic process, but was constantly contested by workers shaping the outcome. I strongly recommend this book for reading to everyone interested in neo-liberal globalisation and the possibilities of resistance to it.' Andreas Bieler, Professor of Political Economy, University of Nottingham 'In this insightful study, Phoebe Moore astutely theorizes the mechanisms of legitimation of neoliberal capitalism in a particular national context. The work is primarily about vocational education and training (VET), but also provides theoretical discussions of neo-Gramscianism and a brief history of modern Korea. It includes primary research in the form of interviews with policy-makers, implementers and social movement leaders. The study is remarkable in interweaving theoretical concerns with empirical issues, providing a theoretically-informed interpretation of a major tendency in recent events. Of importance is the Gramscian concept of trasformismo, an elite strategy that arises when there is a failure to achieve 'consensus' or hegemony, so the elite ends up resisting the resistance with counter-resistance, aiming for passive revolution. The book is of particular use to scholars on Korea, education policy and/or the mechanisms of neoliberalism, this work is also of interest to anyone seeking to understand the processes of social control and ideological production that surround us today.' Review by Andrew Robinson (University of Nottingham) in Capital and Class