Abstract:  In recent years, industrial policy has made a comeback across the globe, with governments increasingly willing to redirect economic activity towards strategically important technologies. While a growing literature has documented the drivers of this shift—ranging from geopolitical competition and climate imperatives to the resurgence of neo-mercantilist ideas—far greater strides have been made in understanding the why of industrial policy than the how. Yet, the how is crucial for both the effectiveness and legitimacy of state intervention. Whether industrial policy can achieve its goals effectively and equitably depends on questions of state capacity, instrument design, institutional coordination, and political support—in short, on how industrial policy is actually done on the ground. After decades of neoliberal policymaking that eroded the capacities, routines, and mindsets needed for effective state intervention, this is easier said than done. This thematic issue brings together 14 contributions that examine the practice of industrial policy across geographies, sectors, and policy instruments. Two themes cut across the contributions. First, industrial policy stands and falls with state capacity—understood as both administrative resources and the political ability to build coalitions, coordinate across sectors, and discipline firms. Second, the practice of industrial policy is fundamentally uneven, but combined: novel interventionist ambitions coexist with deeply sedimented neoliberal legacies, and industrial policy takes different forms across national and supranational scales.

Keywords:  climate transition; embedded autonomy; European Union; geoeconomics; industrial policy; neoliberalism; state capacity

Published:   30 April 2026

Issue:   Vol 14 (2026): Doing Industrial Policy in a Geotech World: Challenges and Opportunities