PSC 1001 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Capital Formation, Crisis Management, International Social Survey Programme
Document Summary
State-building: the creation of new governmental institutions and the strengthening of existing ones. Weak or failed states are the root of many issues: poverty, aids, drug-trafficking, terrorism. The modernity of the liberal west is difficult to achieve for many societies around the world. Us, britain: example of minimalist liberal state giving way to centralized government. Collapse of communism inspired the movement to reduce size of the state in noncommunist countries. Essence of stateness is enforcement: the ability, ultimately, to send someone with a uniform and a gun to force people to comply with the state"s laws: us is strong -- local, state, federal police. Scope of state activities vs. strength of state power: scope: different functions and goals taken on by governments, strength: ability of states to plan and execute policies and enforce laws cleanly and transparently (state/institutional capacity) High levels of transparency and accountability in governmental institutions.
