The Investor State: The Contemporary Redefinition Of The Legiti- Mate Role Of The State[L’« ÉTAT INVESTISSEUR » ou la redéfinition contemporaine du rôle légitime de l’État]

Many studies highlight a strengthening of economic interventionism since 2008, leading to the redefinition of the state's role in the economy and the state/market relationship. This article seeks to demonstrate that this redefinition is not limited to the strictly economic sphere but outlines a new framework for public action in general, one which we propose to characterize by the concept of the "Investor State." By this concept, we refer to a strong tendency to view the role of the state as an "investor," in reference to private financial investors, but also to make investment – in the economic and financial sense – the primary basis for legitimizing its action. In fact, the contemporary valorization of "public investment" entails the delegitimization and maintenance of austerity policies for all areas of public action that are not considered to contribute to "productive" investment. This primarily concerns all sectors that fall under the welfare state. Thus, austerity policies, far from being in contradiction with the Investor State, are at the heart of its logic. The proposed analytical framework has primarily been developed based on the French case, but the author argues for a broader application, particularly at the level of the European Union.