The scarce state : inequality and political power in the hinterland / Noah L. Nathan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nathan, Noah L., 1986- author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in comparative politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Developing countries--Politics and government.

Developing countries.

Developing countries--Rural conditions.

Scarcity--Political aspects--Developing countries.

Scarcity.

Central-local government relations--Developing countries.

Central-local government relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 348 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

The politics of state scarcity

The large effects of scarce states

Northern Ghana's scarce state

The origins of inequality

Bottom-up responses to scarcity

Dynasties

Invented chiefs and distributive politics

Non-state violence as a state effect

Shadow cases

The paradox of state weakness.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Feb 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009261111 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.