Financialization is a multifaceted social phenomenon with a notable degree of transnational heterogeneity. This thesis seeks to approach existing literature gaps that may account for such...Show moreFinancialization is a multifaceted social phenomenon with a notable degree of transnational heterogeneity. This thesis seeks to approach existing literature gaps that may account for such transnational heterogeneity. The first literature gap is the under-exploration of possible connections of democracy to financialization. The second is the lack of a multidimensional analysis exploring the possible relationship between financialization and institutional characteristics. These institutional characteristics are centred around the type of democracy and capitalism regimes which is based on a majoritarian versus consensus-based democracy whereas the economic side is approached through varieties of capitalism and demand regime theory that are respectively dichotomized into liberal market economy versus coordinated market economy and export-led versus debt-led regimes. Financialization is based on three different approaches: the emergence of a new regime of accumulation, the ascendency of shareholder orientation, and the financialization of everyday life. The thesis is hypothesis generating, based on a possible relationship between democracy and capitalism with financialization. The research design employs a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis based on 23 countries. The findings of this thesis are largely inconclusive, requiring further research through different or more refined approaches. In the emergence of a new regime of accumulation and the financialization of everyday life, a general pattern divided the financialization and no-financialization outcomes on a largely geographic basis with a East-West Europe divide. The ascendency of shareholder orientation, meanwhile, saw a large number of necessary or quasi-necessary conditions that may help account for the financialization outcome and only occurred in cases where the emergence of a new regime of accumulation and financialization of everyday life also occurs indicating a possibility that those are necessary conditions.Show less