Conclusion

Abstract

Abstract This concluding chapter walks the tightrope between taking seriously historical and geographical contingencies and identifying larger patterns about state power in the age of offshore finance through comparison. Contrasting the experiences of Britain, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico, it refines the arguments made in Chapter 2 about how offshore finances affect state power. It then moves on to explain under which conditions offshore finance either undermines or strengthens state power. It spells out what the theoretical and empirical findings mean for our understanding of state power in the age of offshore finance. The book ends by lifting our gaze beyond the money view, deliberating the effect of offshore finance on the legitimacy of the democratic state.