Studying the State explores the results of governments in the Global South, particularly in Latin America, turning to the state as a vehicle for mobilizing people, resources and political change. The book evaluates the results of this return to the state by looking at recent historical events to analyse the outcomes, processes, successes and failures of these projects. It also explores the role of China in affecting the margins of manoeuvrability of states, especially Latin American states. Finally, the book considers various perspectives on the theory of the state, contributing to theoretical approaches in the social sciences but in a way that is always grounded in their utility for addressing real-world problems. Contributing to theoretical understandings of the state through grounded case studies, Studying the State will be of great interest to scholars of Latin America, the Global South and neoliberalism and the state. This book was originally published as a special issue in Third World Thematics.