State building in boom times : commodities and coalitions in Latin America and Africa / Ryan Saylor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saylor, Ryan, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nation-building--Latin America.

Nation-building.

Nation-building--Africa.

Coalitions--Latin America.

Coalitions.

Coalitions--Africa.

Commercial products--Latin America.

Commercial products.

Commercial products--Africa.

Africa.

Latin America.

Physical Description:

x, 244 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2014]

Summary:

"State Building in Boom Times argues that commodity booms and coalitional politics are central to understanding the state building variation within and across Latin America and Africa. It shows how resource booms can trigger the provision of new public goods and institutional strengthening and thus help countries expand their state capacity. But these possibilities hinge on coalitional politics, as seen through six cases. Countries ruled by export-oriented coalitions (Argentina, Chile, and Mauritius) expanded their state capacity as a direct result of commodity booms. But countries in which exporters were politically marginalized (Colombia, Ghana, and Nigeria) missed analogous state building opportunities because ruling coalitions preyed upon export wealth, rather than promoting export interests via state building. The coalitional basis of these divergent outcomes suggests that, contrary to the prevailing belief in a resource curse, natural resource wealth does not necessarily dispose countries to low state capacity. Instead, export-oriented coalitions can harness boom times for developmental gains, even in the context of weak institutions. This finding warrants reappraising some widespread presumptions about the relationship between resource wealth and state building, as well as the public policies that are commonly proposed for developing countries to manage their natural resource wealth"-- Provided by publisher.

"Coalitional politics accounts for why resource booms yield divergent state building. Countries ruled by export-oriented coalitions expand state capacity amid commodity booms. But when exporters are politically marginalized, ruling coalitions prey upon export wealth, to the detriment of state capacity"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The Multiple Motives behind State Building in the Developing World 1

The Revenue Imperative and State Building in the Developing World 1

Alternative State Building Motives 4

Boom Times and State Building in Coalitional Perspective 6

Commodity Booms and State Building in Latin America and Africa 8

Chapter 2 Boom Times, Coalitional Politics, and State Building 14

State Capacity, Public Goods, and Institutions: The conceptual Terrain 14

A Coalitional Approach to State Building: The Theoretical Argument 21

Case Selection and Measurement 39

Alternative Hypotheses 50

Chapter 3 Striking State Building Due to Chile's Double Boom, 1848-1883 59

Chile at Mid-Century 60

The Revenue Imperative and Chilean State Building 63

Chile's Double Boom in wheat and Copper 65

Public Goods Provided, but only to Ruling Coalition Members 66

An Opposition Enriched, Civil War, and Institution Building 75

Chile in 1883: A Precocious Latin American Leviathan 85

Chapter 4 Seizing State Building Opportunities during Argentina's Wool Boom, 1852-1886 88

Argentina at Mid-Century 89

The Revenue Imperative and Argentine State Building 91

Argentina's Wool Boom 92

New Public Goods for Powerful Ranching Elites 93

Enriching Exports, Inter-Provincial Conflict, and Institution Building 98

Argentina in 1886: From Port City to Modern State 107

Chapter 5 Sugar Exporters, New Public Goods, and State Building in Mauritius, 1825-1895 110

Initial conditions in Mauritius, 1825 111

The Revenue Imperative and Mauritian State Building 114

The Sugar Boom and the Transformation of Mauritius 115

Public Goods Seeking and Mauritian State Building 116

Without a Diametrical Threat, Mediated Institutions Remain 125

Mauritius in 1895: New Public Goods and a Growth in State Capacity 129

Chapter 6 Marginalized Coffee Exporters and Missed State Building Opportunities in Colombia, 1880-1905 131

Colombia in the Late Nineteenth Century 132

The Revenue Imperative and Colombian State Building 137

Colombia's Coffee Boom 138

Ostracized Coffee Exporters Fail to obtain New Public Goods 139

A Non-Elemental Threat Obviates Institutions Building 146

Persistent State Weakness in Colombia 151

Chapter 7 Nationalist Politicians Squander State Building Opportunities while Fleecing Cocoa Exporters in Ghana, 1945-1966 154

Ghanaat Mid-Century 155

The Revenue Imperative and Ghanaian State Building 159

Ghana's Postwar Cocoa Boom 160

The CPP Frustrates Exporters Efforts to Obtain New Public Goods 161

The Persistence of Mediated institutions in Postwar Ghana 168

Ghanain 1966: Illusory State Building and Low State Capacity 174

Chapter 8 Exporters' Marginalization and the Persistence of Nigeria's Weak State, 1945-1966 177

Nigeria at Mid-Century 178

The Revenue Imperative and Nigerian State Building 181

The Agricultural Commodity Boom 182

Politically Marginalized Exporters Fail to Obtain New Public Goods 183

Institutional Decentralization to Placate Nationalist Elites 191

Nigeria in 1966: An Enervated state 197

Chapter 9 Conclusion and Implications 200

Theoretical Implications 200

What is the Resource Curse? 205

Policy Implications 210.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199364954

0199364958

OCLC:

863077813