'In Modern State Intervention in the Era of Globalisation, one in Edward Elgar's commendable series New Directions in Modern Economics, Nikolaos Karagiannis and Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi contribute handsomely to our understanding of the development of the modern state and its contemporary challenges and dilemmas. . . Karagiannis and Madjd-Sadjadi systematically lay out conceptual definitions, historical patterns and theoretical disputes which show, if nothing else, that the roots of current disagreements lie in the retrievable past and that when those roots are carefully examined, much contemporary squabbling over policies and practices can be contextualized and, in the unlikely event that good will can be found among the contestants, suitably put to rest.'