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Author:   Ryan Saylor (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Tulsa)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 25.10cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 17.50cm
Weight:   0.476kg
ISBN:  

9780199364954

ISBN 10:   0199364958
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   24 July 2014
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1. The Multiple Motives behind State Building in the Developing World The Revenue Imperative and State Building in the Developing World Alternative State Building Motives Boom Times and State Building in Coalitional Perspective Commodity Booms and State Building in Latin America and Africa 2. Boom Times, Coalitional Politics, and State Building State Capacity, Public Goods, and Institutions: The Conceptual Terrain A Coalitional Approach to State Building: The Theoretical Argument Case Selection and Measurement Alternative Hypotheses 3. Striking State Building due to Chile's Double Boom, 1848-1883 Chile at Mid-Century The Revenue Imperative and Chilean State Building Chile's Double Boom in Wheat and Copper Public Goods Provided, but only to Ruling Coalition Members An Opposition Enriched, Civil War, and Institution Building Chile in 1883: A Precocious Latin American Leviathan 4. Seizing State Building Opportunities during Argentina's Wool Boom, 1852-1886 Argentina at Mid-Century The Revenue Imperative and Argentine State Building Argentina's Wool Boom New Public Goods for Powerful Ranching Elites Enriching Exports, Inter-Provincial Conflict, and Institution Building Argentina in 1886: From Port City to Modern State 5. Sugar Exporters, New Public Goods, and State Building in Mauritius, 1825-1895 Initial Conditions in Mauritius, 1825 The Revenue Imperative and Mauritian State Building The Sugar Boom and the Transformation of Mauritius Public Goods Seeking and Mauritian State Building Without a Diametrical Threat, Mediated Institutions Remain Mauritius in 1895: New Public Goods and a Growth in State Capacity 6. Marginalized Coffee Exporters and Missed State Building Opportunities in Colombia, 1880-1905 Colombia in the Late Nineteenth Century The Revenue Imperative and Colombian State Building Colombia's Coffee Boom Ostracized Coffee Exporters Fail to Obtain New Public Goods A Non-Elemental Threat Obviates Institution Building Persistent State Weakness in Colombia 7. Nationalist Politicians Squander State Building Opportunities while Fleecing Cocoa Exporters in Ghana, 1945-1966 Ghana at Mid-Century The Revenue Imperative and Ghanaian State Building Ghana's Postwar Cocoa Boom The CPP Frustrates Exporters' Efforts to Obtain New Public Goods The Persistence of Mediated Institutions in Postwar Ghana Ghana in 1966: Illusory State Building and Low State Capacity 8. Exporters' Marginalization and the Persistence of Nigeria's Weak State, 1945-1966 Nigeria at Mid-Century The Revenue Imperative and Nigerian State Building The Agricultural Commodity Boom Politically Marginalized Exporters Fail to Obtain New Public Goods Institutional Decentralization to Placate Nationalist Elites Nigeria in 1966: An Enervated State 9. Conclusion and Implications Theoretical Implications What Is the Resource Curse? Policy Implications References

Reviews

In this wonderful new book, Saylor takes us away from Hegelian notions of state capacity as somehow divorced from plain old politics. He is very persuasive that states do not grow in a deterministic fashion, but reflect the societal distributions of power, demands from below, and the capacity of political institutions to address these. His selection of cases is unique in its breadth and depth and provides outstanding empirical support for his theoretical claims. Experts on Africa, Latin America, public governance, and politics in general will value this important contribution. Miguel A. Centeno, Princeton University Saylor's book provides a useful counterweight to influential work on state building that has focused on extractive capacity and the need for revenue. He points to other kinds of state capacity, such as the ability to provide public goods, and argues that these capacities develop for reasons having more to do with coalitional politics than the fiscal dynamics that have long been at the center of state building theories. In documenting and explaining a wide range of capacity building outcomes during commodity booms in Latin America and Africa, his work should not only influence scholarship on the 'resource curse' but also fruitfully expand the set of dependent and independent variables in scholarship on state capacity. Kevin M. Morrison, University of Pittsburgh Saylor's book makes an important contribution to our understanding of state formation, challenging dominant perspectives on the role of war and the resource curse. His careful conceptualization and comparative historical analysis illuminates the importance of bottom-up societal dynamics, specifically the contingency of coalitional politics in boom times in six developing countries in Africa and Latin America. Lauren M. MacLean, Indiana University In State Building in Boom Times, Saylor joins a growing group of voices refuting a one-size-fits-all negative take on the politics of resource wealth. Saylor suggests instead that the nature of ruling coalitions during commodity booms drives elite decisions about investing in state capacity. He employs a nicely thought-out cross-regional comparison of a half dozen countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa to trace the lineages of strong states in some and weak ones in others. Saylor's is a new and smart voice in the comparative study of post-colonial state building and I welcome his entry into this ongoing scholarly debate. Benjamin B. Smith, University of Florida

In this wonderful new book, Saylor takes us away from Hegelian notions of state capacity as somehow divorced from plain old politics. He is very persuasive that states do not grow in a deterministic fashion, but reflect the societal distributions of power, demands from below, and the capacity of political institutions to address these. His selection of cases is unique in its breadth and depth and provides outstanding empirical support for his theoretical claims. Experts on Africa, Latin America, public governance, and politics in general will value this important contribution. --Miguel A. Centeno, Princeton University Saylor's book provides a useful counterweight to influential work on state building that has focused on extractive capacity and the need for revenue. He points to other kinds of state capacity, such as the ability to provide public goods, and argues that these capacities develop for reasons having more to do with coalitional politics than the fiscal dynamics that have long been at the center of state building theories. In documenting and explaining a wide range of capacity building outcomes during commodity booms in Latin America and Africa, his work should not only influence scholarship on the 'resource curse' but also fruitfully expand the set of dependent and independent variables in scholarship on state capacity. --Kevin M. Morrison, University of Pittsburgh Saylor's book makes an important contribution to our understanding of state formation, challenging dominant perspectives on the role of war and the resource curse. His careful conceptualization and comparative historical analysis illuminates the importance of bottom-up societal dynamics, specifically the contingency of coalitional politics in boom times in six developing countries in Africa and Latin America. --Lauren M. MacLean, Indiana University In State Building in Boom Times, Saylor joins a growing group of voices refuting a one-size-fits-all neg

Author Information

Ryan Saylor is an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Tulsa.

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