Wk 2: States and State-Building

State

A human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in a given territory.

Regime

Set of formal and informal rules and norms that define where power is located and how it is used.

Government

The set of leaders or political elites in charge of running the state.

State scope

Different functions or goals taken on by the government (what does the state do?)

State capacity/strength

Ability to plan and implement policies, enforce rules. (how well can the state get things done?)

Brown areas

Areas within an otherwise strong state where the government's institutional capacity is weak or non-existent.

Warlords

An individual or group that claims territory for themselves and take on functions of a state.

Houthis

Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran that led the revolt against the Yemeni government.

Protection racket

The state creates anarchy so they can step in.

Bellicist model of state-making

War --> extraction --> state-making --> protection (repeat)

Total war

A conflict in which the participating countries devote all their resources to the war effort.

Limited war

A war fought with limited commitment of resources to achieve a limited objective, such as containing communism.

Protection pacts

Broad elite coalitions formed/unified by shared support for heightened state power and tightened authoritarian controls.

Central provident fund

An employment based saving scheme with the help of employers and employees contributing a mandated amount to the fund for their benefits.