The Scarce State : Inequality and Political Power in the Hinterland Hardback
by Noah L. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Nathan
Part of the Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics series
Hardback
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Description
States are often minimally present in the rural periphery.
Yet a limited presence does not mean a limited impact.
Isolated state actions in regions where the state is otherwise scarce can have outsize, long-lasting effects on society.
The Scarce State reframes our understanding of the political economy of hinterlands through a multi-method study of Northern Ghana alongside shadow cases from other world regions.
Drawing on a historical natural experiment, the book shows how the contemporary economic and political elite emerged in Ghana's hinterland, linking interventions by an ostensibly weak state to new socio-economic inequality and grassroots efforts to reimagine traditional institutions.
The book demonstrates how these state-generated societal changes reshaped access to political power, producing dynastic politics, clientelism, and violence.
The Scarce State challenges common claims about state-building and state weakness, provides new evidence on the historical origins of inequality, and reconsiders the mechanisms linking historical institutions to contemporary politics.
Information
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Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:310 pages, Worked examples or Exercises
- Publisher:Cambridge University Press
- Publication Date:02/03/2023
- Category:
- ISBN:9781009261104
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:310 pages, Worked examples or Exercises
- Publisher:Cambridge University Press
- Publication Date:02/03/2023
- Category:
- ISBN:9781009261104