Admittedly organized interests are a relevant element in shaping national industrial relations systems. This paper, however, focusses on the functions of the state as a factor limiting or enhancing the ability of social actors to participate in the design of these national systems. It compares the role of the state in Norway and Spain as far as regulation and coordination are concerned. The coordination function is compared at two different levels: bipartite cooperation and tripartite cooperation seeking to understand how coordination at the upper level might influence the lower level. Regulation is then compared in its effects on the interactions among the parties and their autonomy as the fundamental principle of industrial relations.