This work investigates whether the forces of global economic integration inevitably erode the capacity of individual nation-states to maintain autonomous social and economic policies. Robert Boyer and Daniel Drache, both established scholars in political economy, assemble a collection of essays that challenge the assumption that globalization renders the state obsolete. They argue that national institutions remain critical mediators between global market pressures and domestic social stability, suggesting that the 'limits' of globalization are defined by the political choices of sovereign states.

Experts in political economy frequently cite this text as a foundational contribution to the debate on institutional diversity in a globalized world. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which requires a solid background in economic theory to fully appreciate the authors' arguments.