The financialisation literature is an invaluable resource to explore the expansion of finance in modern capitalism. However, the debate focuses on the US and the UK extensively, whilst being too general with regard to other contexts. This inattention hinders a proper understanding of financialisation in its di↵erential nature across societies. To rectify such limitation, this thesis advances a theoretically controlled and historically informed study about a striking instance of financial excess outside the Anglo-American scenario: derivatives in Italy. The work argues that scholars are inattentive to the heterogeneous nature of financialisation because they conceptualise the power of finance as entrenched in socio-economic structures. As a result, they underplay the actors who adopt financialised practices di↵erentially. Premised on this critique, the thesis advances an agency-centred approach that analyses power from the perspective of agents. In so doing, it examines the diverse traits of financialisation in relation to the specific power struggles in which actors are involved. Drawing on this method, the work shows that financialisation studies fail to appreciate how key social forces deployed derivatives for political-strategic purposes in the Italian context. During the 1990s, a neoliberal-reformist alliance of pro-market technocrats and centre-left politicians got to power and pushed for Italy to join EMU. This project functioned as an external limit on the domestic political-economic establishment which relied on high public debt, the vast state-owned enterprise and the opaque corporate-governance regime. In brief, citing a slogan widely used in those days, the neoliberal-reformist coalition attempted to make Italy a ‘normal country' in Europe. Derivatives were crucial in this regard because they helped the Italian government comply with the EMU admission criteria. First, reformists encouraged hedge funds to arbitrage the interest-rate convergence between Italian and German bonds via OTC derivatives markets. Second, they arranged a currency swap that window-dressed the 1997 deficit. The thesis concludes by examining how other actors adopted derivatives to deal with the neoliberal-driven modernisation of Italy. It studies how the Agnelli family used equity swaps to secure ownership over FIAT and how municipalities manipulated budget restrictions through interest rate swaps.

This thesis uses transnational historical materialist theory and methodology to explicate the transformation of Ukraine's economy after the demise of the USSR, examining specifically the period from 1991 to the present. Thus, the thesis explores the ways in which the formation of the capitalist historic bloc, the ascent and agency of Ukraine's capitalist and ruling class(es), and the agency of transnational capital are the driving forces behind that transformation and its socially destabilising nature. Social agency is one critical issue in this argument, in that as this thesis shows the main reason behind the inability to stabilise the social order in Ukraine is the ongoing rivalry in the process of class formation. Neoliberal marketization reforms (actively supported by IMF, WB, and EBRD) allowed Ukraine's rival ruling and emerging capitalist class and their fractions to pursue their personal economic interests and by that undermine possibilities for socioeconomic stabilisation. Thus Ukraine's economy has been shaped through processes of accumulation by dispossession (Harvey, 2003), or privatisation, and capitalist class fractional formation and rivalry. In the latter process a capitalist class-for-itself has emerged through organising its fractions around political parties and through actively engaging with the EU and US lobby and interest groups. Through these practices, a process of trasformismo (Gramsci, 1971) and effective strengthening of Ukraine's capitalist historic bloc is evolving. Ukraine's ideologically semi-denationalised ruling (Sassen, 2007) and capitalist forces that emerge from the trasformismo dialectic by transnationalising Ukraine's state for their own political and/or economic gain essentially institutionalise the discipline of capital and facilitate a passive revolution (Gramsci, Ibid.) towards a generation of consent to the global hegemony of neoliberal market ideology. This 'passive revolution' further incapacitates possibilities for the emergence of ideological and thus political counter-movements and alternative institutional forms.

East Asia has been one of the most important regions in the global economic system. In this thesis, the East Asian miracle and the success of China&rsquo / s transition are studied by overviewing the literature. The East Asian economies had experienced sustainable rapid growth from the 1960s to the end of 1990s, until the Asian crisis in 1997. China started her transition from the central planning system at the end of the 1970s. Since the transition began, China has grown at rates even higher than developed countries and she is one of the countries which survived the Asian crisis nearly without damage. Comparing these two experiences in East Asia would give an idea on the features of development in this region. The conclusion is that China shares the features of developmental state which is attributed to the miraculous East Asian economies.

The main aim of this thesis is to discuss the role of innovation in the capitalist mode of production so as to achieve the domination of capitalism in the human world by capitalizing it. The idea of freedom is handled as a reason for politics when one confronts another in this quest. Process innovations are accepted as methods of improving the profitability of production which deprives dispossessed masses from their productive power outside the workplace while product innovation is claimed to be the process of improving profitability of consumption which results in increased intervention of capitalism in the relation between the human being and his wants through pacification. Thus, as capitalism continues growing, it becomes more a mediator between the human being and materials, which gives it more authority in society.

This thesis questions the connection between knowledge and finance and advances an account that links both in a two-folded way. The first level departs from what separates the two opposite views or alternative explanations about the value of knowledge. The source and essence of the extra profits in information goods or commodities, such as digital media contents and software, featuring increasing returns to scale owing to their peculiar cost structure manifested by a high fixed cost and very low constant marginal cost, is what separates the two views about the value of knowledge. In light of the near-decomposability/modularity hypothesis, the extra profits in information commodities should arise from &#039 / information hiding,&#039 / which is intrinsic to nearly-decomposable systems or modular architecture because they are built on an ignorance on the parts in regard to the other parts and the whole of system. Such (hidden) design information that gives rise to parts or modules creates, at the same time, the future paths of action or (real) options, according to real-options perspective. When the two perspectives are combined, knowledge production, as distinct from subsequent knowledge commodity production, basically becomes an option creation process. Then, it becomes possible to argue that the concurrence of knowledge and finance is not a coincidence at all because the logics of accumulation is no different but almost identical, which is the second level of the two-folded account attempted in this study. The main contribution of this thesis is to build an account that links financialization to knowledge via the notion of modularity. Such an account sees financialization as a reflection and consequence of a value-driven permanent innovation economy developed under the &#039 / IT paradigm&#039 / in order to exploit a surplus peculiar and intrinsic to the modular structure that makes &#039 / information hiding&#039 / an integral part of such architectures since they are by definition built on an ignorance on the parts in regard to the other parts and the whole of system.

In this study, the concept of &lsquo / Social Market Economy&rsquo / which was the leading idea in the post-Second World War economic order of Germany will be analysed. This analysis will also take into consideration the Economic School of Ordoliberalism which emerged in the inter-war period and greatly influenced the construction of the idea of &lsquo / Social Market Economy&rsquo / with its theoretical principles. Some politicians and theoreticians in the post-war period also contributed to the development of the concept. Within this theoretical framework, the post-war economic policies and developments will be surveyed and the newly established economic order will be compared with the ideals of Social Market Economy theoretical programme. In particular, the impact of the Social Market Economy upon the evolution of German Model of Capitalism will be explored by taking into account the significant changes in the role of the state in the economy and the conduct of relations between the social partners especially since the 1960&rsquo / s.

The main objective of this thesis is to propose a new perspective in terms of the convergence debate as it is discussed in varieties-of-capitalism (VoC) literature. The initial configuration of VoC stance as well as a part of the literature foresees the convergence of hybrids to a liberal market economy. By revisiting the core arguments of national-systems-of-innovation approach as well as the elaborations of the various critiques of VoC stance, we will propose the opposite. If we are to take &lsquo / innovation&rsquo / as a starting-point of analysis and favor government intervention with respect to it, hybrids are more likely to converge to a political economy that resembles more a coordinated-one. However the meanings of the key terms such as &lsquo / coordinated-market-economy&rsquo / and &lsquo / convergence&rsquo / will be re-evaluated to be able to provide an adequate standpoint in terms of the convergence debate.

A pesquisa A gestão da educação no contexto da sociedade capitalista: a parceria público privado apresenta como tema central a gestão democrática da educação no contexto da sociedade capitalista e, como objetivo geral, a análise das decorrências da lógica do sistema capitalista, através do “Terceiro Setor”, para a gestação dessa gestão democrática. Para isso, contextualiza-se a crise do sistema do capital, a fim de abarcar a conjuntura de desenvolvimento da proposta de gestão democrática da educação, a partir do final dos anos 1990. Trabalha-se também a temática sob o aspecto conceitual, legal e político, para entender a inserção do “Terceiro Setor” na gestão da educação brasileira. Apresenta-se o Instituto Ayrton Senna como um exemplo das novas relações entre Estado e “Terceiro Setor”, a fim de compreender as estratégias de inserção da lógica do capital, na gestão pública da educação. Por fim, observa-se a parceria do Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS) com a Rede Municipal de Educação e Cultura de Joinville (RMECJ), a fim de entender suas estratégias gerenciais de gestão educacional e as consequências para a gestação da gestão democrática da educação. Com base nesse desenvolvimento, o estudo está fundamentado, a partir da categoria da contradição, através dos eixos de análise: capital/capitalismo, “Terceiro Setor”/Instituto Ayrton Senna, democracia/gestão democrática da educação e gestão gerencialista da educação. Esses eixos são inicialmente abordados na sua singularidade e, na medida em que se aprofundaram seus estudos, começou-se a compor a teia de relações entre si, proporcionando o entendimento do tema da pesquisa na sua totalidade. Partiu-se da problematização da crise estrutural do capitalismo, por entender que a gestação da gestão democrática da educação é parte constitutiva da contradição dos processos históricos da sociedade capitalista. E, para aprofundar este estudo, elegeu-se analisar a parceria firmada entre a Prefeitura de Joinville-SC e o Instituto Ayrton Senna, no período de 2000 a 2008, mais especificamente entre 2004 e 2008, por se tratar, especificamente, do período de adoção pela RMECJ do Programa de Gestão Nota 10 da Rede Vencer, do Instituto Ayrton Senna. Escolheu-se trazer o exemplo da gestão da educação em Joinville por considerarmos essa uma expressão significativa no campo educacional, pela sua abrangência e complexidade, mesmo sendo um exemplo singular da educação nacional, desenvolvido no estado de Santa Catarina. Utilizam-se como principais fontes de pesquisa documentos fornecidos pela RMECJ, entre os quais se destacam a Lei de Gestão Democrática nº 5132/2004; o Plano Municipal de Educação; Indicadores de Gestão 2001/2003; e Indicadores de Gestão 2004 a 2008. Além disso, realizaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas com os trabalhadores da educação in loco, que, na ocasião da pesquisa, ocupavam os cargos de secretário de Educação, gerente de ensino do PEC, duas superintendentes, uma diretora de escola e uma professora que atua nas séries iniciais. Como decorrência dessa construção, afirma-se que o modelo de gestão gerencialista, adotado pelo “Terceiro Setor” e em particular, pelo IAS, provoca o esvaziamento da gestão democrática da educação, negando a condição humana de sujeito histórico social, reduzindo-o à coisificação humana. / The research management education in the context of capitalist society: a public private partnership has as its central theme the democratic management of education in the context of capitalist society and, as a general objective, the analysis of the consequences of the capitalist system logic, through the “Third Sector”, for the pregnancy of such democratic management. For that, the crisis of the capital system is contextualized in order to cover the conjuncture of development of the proposal of democratic management of education, from the late 1990s. We also work this subject under the conceptual, legal and political aspects to understand the insertion of the “Third Sector” in the management of Brazilian education. The Ayrton Senna Institute is presented as an example of the new relations between state and “Third Sector” in order to understand the strategies of insertion of the capital logic in public management of education. Finally, we observe the partnership of the Ayrton Senna Institute (IAS) with Joinville’s Municipal Education and Culture System (RMECJ) to perceive its managerial strategies of educational management and the implications for the pregnancy of the democratic management of education. Based on this development, the study is grounded, from the category of contradiction, through these analysis axes: capital/capitalism, “Third Sector”/Ayrton Senna Institute, democracy/democratic management and managerial educational management. These axes are initially covered in its uniqueness and, as its studies began to deepen, we began to compose a web of relations, providing an understanding of the research subject in its totality. We started from questioning the structural crisis of capitalism, arguing that the pregnancy of the democratic management of education is a part of the contradiction of capitalist society’s historical processes. To intensify this study we chose to analyze the partnership between Joinville City Hall and the Ayrton Senna Institute, from 2000 to 2008, specifically between 2004 and 2008, because it is the specific period of adoption by RMECJ of the Management Program Grade 10 from the Winning Network, from IAS. We chose to bring up the example of the educational management in Joinvile because we consider this a significant expression in the educational field, by its scope and complexity, even as a singular example of national education, developed in the state of Santa Catarina. The primary sources for the research were documents provided by RMECJ, among which stand out the Democratic Management Act No. 5132/2004, the Municipal Education Plan, Management Indicators 2001/2003, and Management Indicators from 2004 to 2008. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees of local education that, at the time of the survey, were occupying positions of secretary of education, educational manager of PEC, two superintendents, a school principal and a teacher who works in early grades. As a result of this construction, it is stated that the managerial management model, adopted by the “Third Sector” and specially by IAS, causes the emptying of the democratic management of education, denying the human condition of social historical subject, reducing it to human objectification.

A pesquisa A gestão da educação no contexto da sociedade capitalista: a parceria público privado apresenta como tema central a gestão democrática da educação no contexto da sociedade capitalista e, como objetivo geral, a análise das decorrências da lógica do sistema capitalista, através do “Terceiro Setor”, para a gestação dessa gestão democrática. Para isso, contextualiza-se a crise do sistema do capital, a fim de abarcar a conjuntura de desenvolvimento da proposta de gestão democrática da educação, a partir do final dos anos 1990. Trabalha-se também a temática sob o aspecto conceitual, legal e político, para entender a inserção do “Terceiro Setor” na gestão da educação brasileira. Apresenta-se o Instituto Ayrton Senna como um exemplo das novas relações entre Estado e “Terceiro Setor”, a fim de compreender as estratégias de inserção da lógica do capital, na gestão pública da educação. Por fim, observa-se a parceria do Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS) com a Rede Municipal de Educação e Cultura de Joinville (RMECJ), a fim de entender suas estratégias gerenciais de gestão educacional e as consequências para a gestação da gestão democrática da educação. Com base nesse desenvolvimento, o estudo está fundamentado, a partir da categoria da contradição, através dos eixos de análise: capital/capitalismo, “Terceiro Setor”/Instituto Ayrton Senna, democracia/gestão democrática da educação e gestão gerencialista da educação. Esses eixos são inicialmente abordados na sua singularidade e, na medida em que se aprofundaram seus estudos, começou-se a compor a teia de relações entre si, proporcionando o entendimento do tema da pesquisa na sua totalidade. Partiu-se da problematização da crise estrutural do capitalismo, por entender que a gestação da gestão democrática da educação é parte constitutiva da contradição dos processos históricos da sociedade capitalista. E, para aprofundar este estudo, elegeu-se analisar a parceria firmada entre a Prefeitura de Joinville-SC e o Instituto Ayrton Senna, no período de 2000 a 2008, mais especificamente entre 2004 e 2008, por se tratar, especificamente, do período de adoção pela RMECJ do Programa de Gestão Nota 10 da Rede Vencer, do Instituto Ayrton Senna. Escolheu-se trazer o exemplo da gestão da educação em Joinville por considerarmos essa uma expressão significativa no campo educacional, pela sua abrangência e complexidade, mesmo sendo um exemplo singular da educação nacional, desenvolvido no estado de Santa Catarina. Utilizam-se como principais fontes de pesquisa documentos fornecidos pela RMECJ, entre os quais se destacam a Lei de Gestão Democrática nº 5132/2004; o Plano Municipal de Educação; Indicadores de Gestão 2001/2003; e Indicadores de Gestão 2004 a 2008. Além disso, realizaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas com os trabalhadores da educação in loco, que, na ocasião da pesquisa, ocupavam os cargos de secretário de Educação, gerente de ensino do PEC, duas superintendentes, uma diretora de escola e uma professora que atua nas séries iniciais. Como decorrência dessa construção, afirma-se que o modelo de gestão gerencialista, adotado pelo “Terceiro Setor” e em particular, pelo IAS, provoca o esvaziamento da gestão democrática da educação, negando a condição humana de sujeito histórico social, reduzindo-o à coisificação humana. / The research management education in the context of capitalist society: a public private partnership has as its central theme the democratic management of education in the context of capitalist society and, as a general objective, the analysis of the consequences of the capitalist system logic, through the “Third Sector”, for the pregnancy of such democratic management. For that, the crisis of the capital system is contextualized in order to cover the conjuncture of development of the proposal of democratic management of education, from the late 1990s. We also work this subject under the conceptual, legal and political aspects to understand the insertion of the “Third Sector” in the management of Brazilian education. The Ayrton Senna Institute is presented as an example of the new relations between state and “Third Sector” in order to understand the strategies of insertion of the capital logic in public management of education. Finally, we observe the partnership of the Ayrton Senna Institute (IAS) with Joinville’s Municipal Education and Culture System (RMECJ) to perceive its managerial strategies of educational management and the implications for the pregnancy of the democratic management of education. Based on this development, the study is grounded, from the category of contradiction, through these analysis axes: capital/capitalism, “Third Sector”/Ayrton Senna Institute, democracy/democratic management and managerial educational management. These axes are initially covered in its uniqueness and, as its studies began to deepen, we began to compose a web of relations, providing an understanding of the research subject in its totality. We started from questioning the structural crisis of capitalism, arguing that the pregnancy of the democratic management of education is a part of the contradiction of capitalist society’s historical processes. To intensify this study we chose to analyze the partnership between Joinville City Hall and the Ayrton Senna Institute, from 2000 to 2008, specifically between 2004 and 2008, because it is the specific period of adoption by RMECJ of the Management Program Grade 10 from the Winning Network, from IAS. We chose to bring up the example of the educational management in Joinvile because we consider this a significant expression in the educational field, by its scope and complexity, even as a singular example of national education, developed in the state of Santa Catarina. The primary sources for the research were documents provided by RMECJ, among which stand out the Democratic Management Act No. 5132/2004, the Municipal Education Plan, Management Indicators 2001/2003, and Management Indicators from 2004 to 2008. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees of local education that, at the time of the survey, were occupying positions of secretary of education, educational manager of PEC, two superintendents, a school principal and a teacher who works in early grades. As a result of this construction, it is stated that the managerial management model, adopted by the “Third Sector” and specially by IAS, causes the emptying of the democratic management of education, denying the human condition of social historical subject, reducing it to human objectification.

A pesquisa A gestão da educação no contexto da sociedade capitalista: a parceria público privado apresenta como tema central a gestão democrática da educação no contexto da sociedade capitalista e, como objetivo geral, a análise das decorrências da lógica do sistema capitalista, através do “Terceiro Setor”, para a gestação dessa gestão democrática. Para isso, contextualiza-se a crise do sistema do capital, a fim de abarcar a conjuntura de desenvolvimento da proposta de gestão democrática da educação, a partir do final dos anos 1990. Trabalha-se também a temática sob o aspecto conceitual, legal e político, para entender a inserção do “Terceiro Setor” na gestão da educação brasileira. Apresenta-se o Instituto Ayrton Senna como um exemplo das novas relações entre Estado e “Terceiro Setor”, a fim de compreender as estratégias de inserção da lógica do capital, na gestão pública da educação. Por fim, observa-se a parceria do Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS) com a Rede Municipal de Educação e Cultura de Joinville (RMECJ), a fim de entender suas estratégias gerenciais de gestão educacional e as consequências para a gestação da gestão democrática da educação. Com base nesse desenvolvimento, o estudo está fundamentado, a partir da categoria da contradição, através dos eixos de análise: capital/capitalismo, “Terceiro Setor”/Instituto Ayrton Senna, democracia/gestão democrática da educação e gestão gerencialista da educação. Esses eixos são inicialmente abordados na sua singularidade e, na medida em que se aprofundaram seus estudos, começou-se a compor a teia de relações entre si, proporcionando o entendimento do tema da pesquisa na sua totalidade. Partiu-se da problematização da crise estrutural do capitalismo, por entender que a gestação da gestão democrática da educação é parte constitutiva da contradição dos processos históricos da sociedade capitalista. E, para aprofundar este estudo, elegeu-se analisar a parceria firmada entre a Prefeitura de Joinville-SC e o Instituto Ayrton Senna, no período de 2000 a 2008, mais especificamente entre 2004 e 2008, por se tratar, especificamente, do período de adoção pela RMECJ do Programa de Gestão Nota 10 da Rede Vencer, do Instituto Ayrton Senna. Escolheu-se trazer o exemplo da gestão da educação em Joinville por considerarmos essa uma expressão significativa no campo educacional, pela sua abrangência e complexidade, mesmo sendo um exemplo singular da educação nacional, desenvolvido no estado de Santa Catarina. Utilizam-se como principais fontes de pesquisa documentos fornecidos pela RMECJ, entre os quais se destacam a Lei de Gestão Democrática nº 5132/2004; o Plano Municipal de Educação; Indicadores de Gestão 2001/2003; e Indicadores de Gestão 2004 a 2008. Além disso, realizaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas com os trabalhadores da educação in loco, que, na ocasião da pesquisa, ocupavam os cargos de secretário de Educação, gerente de ensino do PEC, duas superintendentes, uma diretora de escola e uma professora que atua nas séries iniciais. Como decorrência dessa construção, afirma-se que o modelo de gestão gerencialista, adotado pelo “Terceiro Setor” e em particular, pelo IAS, provoca o esvaziamento da gestão democrática da educação, negando a condição humana de sujeito histórico social, reduzindo-o à coisificação humana. / The research management education in the context of capitalist society: a public private partnership has as its central theme the democratic management of education in the context of capitalist society and, as a general objective, the analysis of the consequences of the capitalist system logic, through the “Third Sector”, for the pregnancy of such democratic management. For that, the crisis of the capital system is contextualized in order to cover the conjuncture of development of the proposal of democratic management of education, from the late 1990s. We also work this subject under the conceptual, legal and political aspects to understand the insertion of the “Third Sector” in the management of Brazilian education. The Ayrton Senna Institute is presented as an example of the new relations between state and “Third Sector” in order to understand the strategies of insertion of the capital logic in public management of education. Finally, we observe the partnership of the Ayrton Senna Institute (IAS) with Joinville’s Municipal Education and Culture System (RMECJ) to perceive its managerial strategies of educational management and the implications for the pregnancy of the democratic management of education. Based on this development, the study is grounded, from the category of contradiction, through these analysis axes: capital/capitalism, “Third Sector”/Ayrton Senna Institute, democracy/democratic management and managerial educational management. These axes are initially covered in its uniqueness and, as its studies began to deepen, we began to compose a web of relations, providing an understanding of the research subject in its totality. We started from questioning the structural crisis of capitalism, arguing that the pregnancy of the democratic management of education is a part of the contradiction of capitalist society’s historical processes. To intensify this study we chose to analyze the partnership between Joinville City Hall and the Ayrton Senna Institute, from 2000 to 2008, specifically between 2004 and 2008, because it is the specific period of adoption by RMECJ of the Management Program Grade 10 from the Winning Network, from IAS. We chose to bring up the example of the educational management in Joinvile because we consider this a significant expression in the educational field, by its scope and complexity, even as a singular example of national education, developed in the state of Santa Catarina. The primary sources for the research were documents provided by RMECJ, among which stand out the Democratic Management Act No. 5132/2004, the Municipal Education Plan, Management Indicators 2001/2003, and Management Indicators from 2004 to 2008. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees of local education that, at the time of the survey, were occupying positions of secretary of education, educational manager of PEC, two superintendents, a school principal and a teacher who works in early grades. As a result of this construction, it is stated that the managerial management model, adopted by the “Third Sector” and specially by IAS, causes the emptying of the democratic management of education, denying the human condition of social historical subject, reducing it to human objectification.