Currently practiced state-building strategies are increasingly appearing to be part of the problem rather than part of a solution. The exchange between the lead authors and discussants in this dialogue vividly illustrates the need to shift away from a state-centric view, without entirely rejecting the notion of state. At the same time it shows the difficulties of integrating concepts of political order that do not correspond to the western-style Weberian/Westphalian state.
Instead of advocating ideal-type, off-the-shelf models and blue-prints, the contributors to this dialogue argue that historically well-informed analysis, which leads to a deeper contextualized understanding of the local and regional situation on the ground, has to be the bedrock of any attempts for external assistance aimed at peace and development. They discuss evidence and counter-examples from Somaliland, Afghanistan, Liberia through to the Balkans and East Timor.Contents:
Martina Fischer & Beatrix Schmelzle - Introduction
Volker Boege, Anne Brown, Kevin Clements & Anna Nolan - On Hybrid Political Orders and Emerging States: What is Failing - States in the Global South or Research and Politics in the West?
Trutz von Trotha - The "Andersen Principle": On the Difficulty of Truly Moving Beyond State-Centrism
Susan L. Woodward - A Case for Shifting the Focus: Some Lessons from the Balkans
Andreas Mehler - Hybrid Regimes and Oligopolies of Violence in Africa: Expectations on Security Provision "From Below"
Susanne Schmeidl (with Masood Karokhail) - "Prêt-a-Porter States": How the McDonaldization of State-Building Misses the Mark in Afghanistan
Bjoern Hofmann - Are Hybrid Political Orders an Appropriate Concept for State-Formation? Timor-Leste Revisited
Volker Boege, Anne Brown, Kevin Clements & Anna Nolan - Undressing the Emperor. A Reply to our Discussants