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Who governs industrial policy? State–labor relations in the closure and reindustrialisation of an automotive factory

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: In the current post-neoliberal conjuncture, industrial policy has reemerged as a key arena through which states attempt to manage global restructuring, geopolitical rivalry and recurrent crises. Yet much of IPE literature continues to marginalize labor within state-led strategies of industrial transformation. This article advances a labor-centered perspective on industrial policy and state capitalism through an analysis of the contested closure and reindustrialisation of Nissan’s Zona Franca plant in Barcelona. Drawing on qualitative evidence, it shows how trade unions mobilized organizational capacities to reshape closure outcomes and reindustrialisation trajectories within a fragmented and reactive state framework. The article demonstrates that labor regimes and industrial policy are not fixed institutional arrangements but open to transformation through complex class struggles across various governance levels.

Source: Review of International Political Economy

DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2026.2712354

Authors: Jon Las Heras, Mario Rísquez

Institutions: University of the Basque Country, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Language: English

Topic: Labor Movements and Unions

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Eusko Jaurlaritza