Beyond Hollowing Out: Straitjacketing the State

For two decades, the metaphor of ‘hollowing out’ dominated discussions about the changing role of the state in delivering public services. Today, this metaphor no longer captures important contemporary developments. European Union policy has expanded deeper and deeper into public service sectors, increasingly constraining government's capacities to deliver these services. I suggest a new metaphor to capture this: straitjacketing the state. People are straitjacketed when they are perceived to be at risk of damaging themselves through self‐harm. Straitjacketing the state occurs when a state signs up to a new set of supranational rules which purportedly will help avoid it damaging itself, by restricting room for localised inefficient practices. However, due to the strength of the straitjacket, governments become significantly restricted in choosing policies for domestic implementation according to their preferences.