Taylor-TillyTallyWarMaking-2008

Introduction

  • Authors: Brian D. Taylor and Roxana Botea

  • Source: International Studies Review, Mar. 2008, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 27-56

  • Topic: War-making and state-making in the contemporary Third World, particularly the applicability of Charles Tilly’s thesis in developing nations.

Main Argument

  • Examines whether Tilly’s war-making/state-making thesis applies in developing countries, specifically Iraq and Vietnam.

  • Investigates how war influences state strength, drawing on historical cases of Afghanistan and Vietnam.

  • Explores three mechanisms of state formation: extraction of resources, army building, and nation-making.

Theoretical Background

  • Historical perspective: Tilly argues that states were formed through war (extraction of resources, coercion, and political control).

  • Different from Tilly’s Euro-centric view, the authors aim to assess the implications in a Third World context.

  • Tilly's principle: "War made the state, and the state made war"; in contrast, this study suggests that under specific conditions, states can become stronger through conflict.

Case Studies

Vietnam

  • Vietnam successfully built state strength through conflict, utilizing effective resource extraction and army formation.

  • Factors contributing to state formation:

    • Core Ethnic Group: Existence of a dominant ethnic identity (Vietnamese) that fosters nationalism.

    • War & Revolution: The revolutionary movements provided unifying ideologies, binding citizens to the state.

  • Comparative observation: The transition from French colonial rule, through the Vietnam War, strengthened national identity.

Afghanistan

  • Afghanistan’s state capacity weakened due to disintegration as a result of ongoing conflict since 1978.

  • External influences: Reliance on foreign support diminished internal resource extraction capabilities.

  • Absence of a core political community limited unification efforts, leading to fragmented national identity and governance.

Mechanisms of War and State Formation

Raising Money

  • Vietnam:

    • Developed tax systems and extracted funds effectively from controlled territories.

    • Utilized war bonds and taxed agricultural production during conflicts to finance operations.

  • Afghanistan:

    • Initially had a weak taxation mechanism; grew reliant on foreign aid.

    • Government's inability to extract resources effectively led to dwindled fiscal capacity.

Building Armies

  • Vietnam:

    • Established a strong army through recruitment and support from local militias and international allies (especially China).

    • Army expansion included conscription and activating local self-defense units.

  • Afghanistan:

    • Military fragmentation due to ethnic divisions and reliance on regional militias, lack of coherent army control.

    • Efforts to create a unified military force were hindered by external support for various competing factions.

Making Nations

  • Vietnam:

    • Strong sense of nationalism driven by shared history of conflict and external threats.

    • Successful unification under communist ideology reinforced internal cohesion.

  • Afghanistan:

    • Characterized by ethnic fragmentation, preventing a unified national identity.

    • Increase in sectarian and clan divisions during conflict, exacerbated by political rivalries.

Conclusions

  • War can lead to state-making in some contexts (Vietnam), but can also destroy states in others (Afghanistan).

  • Strong state-building in Vietnam was due to social cohesion, nationalist sentiment, and revolutionary ideology.

  • Afghanistan’s lack of cohesion and external dependence led to a failed state scenario.

  • Future research should explore regional comparisons and variations in post-conflict state making, addressing the role of external influences and internal conditions in narrative state development.