ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the cognitive, cultural, legal and political means through which this post crisis' agenda is constructed and asks about possible consequences. It addresses the issues of state/market balance-of-power and ability to command. The book discusses the development of shared cognitive and cultural spaces. It explores questions of culture, within the conceptually and politically complex middle ground between public and private regulation of financial markets. Within the European Union (EU), the way forward for regulatory reform from 2016 onwards is encapsulated in the political slogan and legislative programme of the Capital Markets Union (CMU). Based on theoretical debates about financialisation, varieties of capitalism and integration, key questions and concerns are identified about the new strategies to redesign EU capital markets.
