POLB91H3 Lecture : Jan. 10th, 2012 - Lecture 1 - there isn't much here, just an overview of B90.
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Grading breakdown: mid-term test [feb. 14th] (20%, analytical book review [due march 20th](30%) Late assignments will be docked 2% per day. Tutorials start on january 24th: tutorial attendance/participation (10%, final exam (40%) There are two major types of state power: despotic power is the power to control and suppress society. Force and coercion is key to this type of power. State borders and institutions were artificially imposed by colonial rulers. You use brute force to get things done. Local police, strongmen and military are used to get the job done and in this sense, the state is strong. This is a paradox: the state has strong despotic/coercive power but weak infrastructural or transformative power. The purpose and point of colonial rule was extractive rather than developmental. The power structure of the colonial state was entrenched by ruling elites after independence to protect their interests: infrastructional power is the power to administer and transform societies.
