This book discusses the significance of the state in a globalised economy. Focusing on Denmark and Ireland, the book analyses how small states adapt to the international market and argues that the institutional mediation of globalisation helps us explain why some states seem to possess more capacity to adjust than others. Not only must we bring the state back in, we must also consider how history, culture and collective identities influence the performance of the nation-state in the new globalised world order. With contributions by Francis Fukuyama, Bob Jessop, David Marsh, John A Hall and John Campbell, Georg Sorensen, Bjorn Hvinden, Rory ODonnell, Peadar Kirby, Joseph Ruane, Brian Girvin, Sean ORiain, Chris McInerny, Gert and Gunnar Svendsen, Lars Bo Kaspersen and Linda Thorsager, Henrik Bang, and Michael Boss.