theories of the state by rob kevlihan

8/8/2019 Theories of the State by Rob Kevlihan

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/theories-of-the-state-by-rob-kevlihan 1/43

Theories of the State

Rob Kevlihan

Presented at Bilim / Central Asian Resource Center training seminar, Almaty, April 2005



Theories of the State

Introduction: Defining the State

State formation

Different conceptions of the state

Nationalism and the state

International Relations & Globalization

Implications for analysis in Central Asia

Conclusion: Wrap up and discussion




When we enquire into what corresponds to the idea of the “state” in empirical

reality, we find an infinity of diffuse and discrete human actions, both active

& passive, factually and legally regulated relationships, partly unique andpartly recurrent in character, all bound together by an idea, namely the belief

in the actual or normative validity of rules and of the authoritarian

relationships of some human beings towards others. This belief is in part

consciously, and in part dimly felt, and in part passively accepted by persons

who, should they think about the “idea” in a really clearly defined manner,would not first need a “general theory of the state” which aims to articulate

the idea.. [1]

[1] Weber, Max, 1949. “ „Objectivity‟ in Social Science and Social Policy” , in Max Weber on the Methodology

of the Social Sciences , ed. Edwards A. Shils and Henry Finch (Glencoe, IL: Free Press), p 99.




Statist versus sociological approaches

Hinges on the degree of

autonomy the state is perceived to have fromsociety and

on the nature of state / society relationships

Various approaches often focus on particularfunctionalities of states; these functionalitiesoften have normative underpinning




Classic definitions

Hobbes

Smith Weber

Marx

Gramsci

Other interesting contributions Geertz

Chandhoke




Thomas Hobbes

Statist approach

Dark view of human nature

Without the imposition of order, the life of manwould be „solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and

short‟ The state is the „leviathon‟ that provides this

order




Adam Smith The state as „night watchman‟

Statist in orientation, with concentration onparticular functions the state performs

Provides basic framework to allow markets tofunction including:

External security Secure property rights

Rule of law etc.




Max Weber

A state is a human community which (successfully)claims a monopoly of the legitimate use of physicalforce within a given territory

“Claims” is not the same as exercises

Q: What is “Legitimate”? What is the source of claim

to govern? – Weber: Traditional, charismatic andlegal / functional

Classic definition – statist in orientation, despiteWeber‟s status as a sociologist




Karl Marx

The state defined as the executive committee of thebourgeoise

Essentially derivative and a function of underlyingrelations of production

Materialist, with an emphasis on coercion

Sociological, in the sense that the state derives fromunderlying social realities connected to control of themeans of production – land, labor and capital




Marxist variation Some neo-Marxists allow for the possibility

that the state will play capitalist interests offagainst each other, allowing for the possibilityof some autonomy

e.g. Theda Skocpol – justification for the „New

Deal‟ in the US As a consequence, this leans more towards a

statist approach




Antonio Gramsci

State capture by political forces

Emphasizes hegemonic power of the state Civil society seen as a sphere of contestation within

which the state strives to impose a subtle hegemonythat legitimizes its existence and power

Penetration of civil society by the state Hybrid – elements of statist and sociological

approaches




Other interesting contributions

Clifford Geertz (Anthropology): State as theatre: roleof symbolism and symbolic action

Chandhoke: Emphasis on the dialectical relationshipbetween the state and (true) civil society. Careful todefine civil society exclusive of non-governmentalelements that deny the on-going need for the

existence of civil society itself.



State formation

Early state formation & state formation inWestern Europe

Colonial experiences

State formation in the USSR



State formation

Early state formation

Much of the literature is Euro-centric and teleological – often subtly reflecting „stage‟ theories of

development and frequently ignoring Europe‟s

relationship to the rest of the world and the impactthat had on state formation inside and outsidewestern Europe.

Will consider the work of Tilly, Hall & Ikenberry andNorth & Thomas and a critique of this approach byWallerstein



State formation

Charles Tilly

States as protection rackets

In Western Europe this resulted in a Darwinianprocess of state consolidation

The differential success of what were to becomegreat powers in external power struggles establishedever greater areas of internal arenas for the use offorce e.g. development of the United Kingdom,“Manifest Destiny” in the US and eastward expansion

of Imperial Russia



State formation

Hall & Ikenberry

Puny leviathons (irrigation agriculture & religion)

Capstone states – e.g. Imperial China – stronglydespotic but weak infrastructural powers, with abilityto govern but inability to grow

Custodial states – e.g. Pre-colonial India – control inthe hands of Brahmins; purely defensive

Predatory states: (from Ibn Khaldun): cyclicalrelationships between nomads and cities that resultedin transitionary and predatory regimes



State Formation

Hall & Ikenberry / contd.

Organic state: It was only in Western Europe thatpolitical fragmentation and the ability of capital torelocate resulted in a competitive aspect betweenstates that limited arbitrariness and allowed for everincreasing infra-structural penetration by the state.

The development of “liberties” allowed for the

development of civil society which in turn created themodern western, capitalist, liberal democracy.



State formation

Douglass North & Robert Thomas Capitalism supported state development

“Institutions matter”, especially property rights England's comparative success explained by

establishment of firm property rights, removalof hindrances in both factor and product

markets, and beginning of protection ofprivate property in knowledge through patentlaw.



State formation

Immanuel Wallerstein World Systems Theory: Centre vs Periphery

World economy develops a pattern where statestructures are relatively strong at the core andrelatively weak in the periphery

Strong structures include both de facto and de jure sovereignty

The state is a partially autonomous entity with amargin of action reflecting compromises of multipleinterests; this autonomy serves the interests of statemanagers and the bureaucracy



State formation

Colonial Experiences Competition for territory: “The Scramble for Africa”

and “The Great Game” and arbitrary delineation of

territories Extractive economies developed often based on

extraction of raw materials, restrictive trade practices,mono-agriculture and cash crops – cotton, coffee, teaetc.

Systems in indirect rule often instituted that reinforcedthe power of local leaders, and (combined withmissionary activities) often deified ethnic divisions

Independence with little prior preparation



State formation

Colonial experiences Application of Tilly to African states by Herbst

Noted absence of Darwinian process of inter statewar led to weak states

Continuity with pre-colonial Africa because ofdifferentiated zones of control, with greatest controlconcentrated around power centers

Geography as determining factor in state capacitythough not deterministic – African states have largelyfailed to overcome the challenge posed bygeography



State formation

State formation in the USSR Some parallel‟s to colonial experience, especially in

Central Asia – mono-agriculture, arbitrary borders

based on titular nationalities, use of coercion tomaintain control, independence largely unexpectedand sudden

But – relationship between core and periphery morecomplex; investment in infrastructure, education andservices, opportunities for local control ofadministrative structures (especially from 1950sonwards)



State formation

Sovietism: Combination of bureaucracy, patronagerelationships, localism and centralization…..a divide betweentwo different spheres of concern - one relating to strategy,

security, military and state ideology that was controlled byMoscow and another relating to appointments of local cadres,distribution of power and economic perks that was controlledby indigenous leaders......the local society was able with thecomplicity of its leaders to largely resist deep Russification

and state control, while also adopting sovietism and grantinglip service to the Russian big brother.

From Oliver Roy, 2002, “Soviet Legacies and Western Aid Imperatives in the NewCentral Asia” in Sajoo (ed.) Civil Society in the Muslim World, ContemporaryPerspectives, IB Taurus, London, p129.



State formation

Empirical statehood: Differing historicalexperiences have left states with differing levels

of state capacity and distinctive relations withthe societies which they govern

But, doctrine of state sovereignty gives allinternationally recognized states the same legal

standing internationally, regardless of statecapacity

Erosion of state sovereignty?




Many different state types e.g. „strong Vs weakstates‟; „failed states‟; „pluralist states vscorporatist states‟; „welfare states‟; „predatory

states‟ etc. Tend to focus on empirical statehood, rather

than on question of sovereignty

Taking Tilly‟s definition of states as protectionrackets, can include de facto governingauthorities even when not internationallyrecognized




Developed countries Debate is largely over the appropriate extent of the

state / how much the state should intervene in market

mechanisms Neo-liberals (in the economic, not political science

sense) argue for a minimalist conception of the stateas „night watchman‟ / Keynesians argued for agreater degree of state intervention

Market based approach often ignores market in-efficiencies and power relations

Impact of globalization in eroding post war welfarestates because of inter state competition and the

mobility of capital




Underdeveloped countries

Weak states and failed states

Terms themselves indicate a normativeposition – that these states should be doingmore / should have greater capacity

But, closer inspection indicates that suchstates frequently serve the purposes of atleast some groups




Underdeveloped countries

Francois Bayart in “The Politics of the Belly”

Rhizome state – beneath the façade of the sovereignstate lies the rhizome state, comprised of patrimonialnetworks of distribution; form vs substances

Christopher Clapham – idea of the “shadow state”

similar

State largely undifferentiated from society – or atleast embedded in / captured by particular socialnetworks




State structures and idea of „sufficiency‟ States could be re-characterized as „sufficient states‟

i.e. sufficient given the balance of internal and

external forces that define what the state is and whatfunctions it serves

In this conception the nature and extent of the staterepresents an equilibrium – the degree of stability inthe form of the state at equilibrium depends oncircumstances, and may be disrupted suddenlythrough contentious politics or reformed graduallythrough normal politics (or changed over time througha combination of both).




Theories of nationalism

Primordialism – a people have always existed

in a particular place and after many years ofstruggle have established / will establish anindependent state; largely viewed as a „straw

man‟ in the literature

Smith – idea of ethnie - historical continuitiesin ethnic groups and nations




Theories of nationalism Gellner – nationalism a modern phenomenon –

expansion of state educational systems, the industrial

revolution and coercive power of the state Anderson – nationalism developed in different ways

in different places (linguistic, official and creolenationalisms), but largely a socially constructed andmodern phenomenon – „imagined communities‟

Brubaker – relational approach – triangle betweengoverning state, alternative nationalism of minoritywithin that state and nationalism of neighboring statethat has affinity with the minority




Relationship between nationalism and the statelargely depends on theoretical approachadopted towards nationalism itself and

conceptualization of state / society relations Primordialist approach emphasizes the inherent

coherency of a particular society - the statederives itself from that coherency

Smith – more nuanced, but essentially thepresence of an ethnie lends itself to stateformation




Gellner – statist approach – it is the state itselfthat uses nationalism to create societalcoherency. Joel Migdal – nationalism a means

of binding society to the state Anderson – nationalism largely elite driven.

Whether it contributes to state coherency or notdepends on the personal experiences

(pilgrimages) and imaginings of elites in the firstinstance, and ultimately on collective imaginingsat the societal level.



International Relations, Globalization &the State

Why consider globalization & IR whentheorizing about the state?

International politics and economics playkey roles in state formation – both withrespect to sovereignty and with respect to

state capacity




International Relations Theory Realist theories largely view states as a „black box‟ –

differences in state power define nature of

international relations Institutionalists treat states in the same way – their

argument is that international institutions matter –despite underlying power relations

Neo-liberalists (in political science sense) disagreeand argue that the nature of state level governancearrangements strongly influence how states behaveinternationally – e.g. the democratic peace argument

Constructivists point to the socially constructed nature

of states and international society in general




What difference does this make?

Degree to which membership of internationalorganizations protects the continued de jureexistence of state

Impact that particular theories (e.g. democratic peacetheory) may have on foreign policies of states and onstate formation in other states

Extent to which the manner in which the internationalcommunity is organized largely defines the form inwhich states manifest themselves




Globalization and the state Debate on globalization often revolves around the

continued salience of the state and the ability of

states to continue to govern Realist accounts (Robert Gilpin, early Susan Strange)

– system of international trade and finance largely acreature of powerful states – what states made theycan unmake

Alternative accounts – (later Strange) – global systemof capitalism is too powerful for this to change.Political systems in powerful states largely capturedby those with continued interest in current system.




Globalization and the state Mittelman – Polanyian „double movement‟ –

relationships between state, society and market. First

movement – freeing of market – second movement –societal response to ensure the market servicessocietal needs, rather than vice versa.

Consequence- first movement in globalization hasbeen the freeing of the global market. Secondmovement will require a global society response toallow the market to serve global social needs

Cosmopolitan view? Moving towards global systemsof governance or at least a global governance

architecture




Implications for the state

Impact of globalization on states varies depending onrelative ability to compete in global market place

For those with comparative advantage or able todevelop comparative advantage, global trade canresult in prosperity and a relatively stronger states;

State autonomy constrained by continued need tocompete in international system and retain / developcompetitive advantage




Implications for the state However, for those with lower capacities to

compete / develop competitive advantage, theworld market, in the absence of global safetynets, is a difficult place in which to thrive

Consequence – weak states, dependent on

external aid and financially constrained byeconomic and political conditionality appliedto loans and aid

I li ti f l i i



Implications for analysis inCentral Asia

While legacy of USSR has resulted inconsiderable parallels and commonalities in theexperiences of Central Asian states, there arestill differences, and there will be increaseddivergence over time

Specificity in the experiences and relative

situation of each state because of particulargeographic and social conditions and historicalexperiences needs to be considered

Im lic tions for n l sis in



Implications for analysis inCentral Asia

Empirical statehood, state capacity and legitimacy

The relevance of the concept of rhizome states andthe particular ways in which patrimonialist networksmanifest themselves and impact on state formation

State building projects – the different types ofnationalism and whether / how they apply to state / society relations in each case

Nature of insertion into international system frompolitical and economic perspectives and the impactthis insertion has on the nature of the state

The relative (un)importance of Darwinism in stateformation in Central Asia and steps states take toovercome structural challenges to state coherency

and capacity



Conclusions

Theories provide platforms for greaterunderstanding of empirical reality

Theories represent „ideal types‟

All facts are theoretically informed

Different theories will highlight different aspectsof a complex reality

Useful to think in terms of different theories inorder to gain new insights and better describecomplex realities

theories of the state by rob kevlihan

Documents