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  3. Undermining the State from Within
  • Cited by 12
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    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      February 2023
      March 2023
      ISBN:
      9781009219907
      9781009219938
      9781009219891
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009219907
      Dimensions:
      (235 x 155 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.62kg, 332 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 151 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.54kg, 332 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Area Studies, Latin American Studies, Politics and International Relations, Latin American Government, Politics and Policy, Comparative Politics
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    • Selected: Digital
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    Subjects:
    Area Studies, Latin American Studies, Politics and International Relations, Latin American Government, Politics and Policy, Comparative Politics
    Information

    Book description

    Undermining the State from Within pulls back the curtain on the counterinsurgent state to better understand how conflict dynamics affect state institutions and continue to shape political and economic development in the postwar period. Drawing on unique archival and interview data from war and postwar Central America, this book illuminates how counterinsurgent actors, under the pretext of combatting an insurgent threat, introduce alternative rules within state institutions, which undermine core activities like tax collection, public security provision, and property administration. Moreover, it uncovers how the counterinsurgent elite outmaneuvers governance reforms during democratic transition and peacebuilding to preserve the predatory wartime status quo. In so doing, this book rethinks the relationship between war and state formation, challenges existing scholarly and policy approaches to peacebuilding and post-conflict institutional reform and contributes a new understanding of what civil war leaves behind in an institutional sense.

    Awards

    Winner, 2024 Donna Lee Van Cott Award, Latin American Studies Association

    Reviews

    ‘[A] masterful contribution to academic scholarship on legacies of civil war, with crucial implications for peacebuilding and democratic institutional development. It should be read by all academics and policymakers concerned with development in post-conflict settings, as well as scholars with diverse areas of focus.’

    Laura R. Blume Source: Perspectives on Politics

    ‘[A] bold and ambitious book that is both theoretically distinctive and empirically rich. … this study does a monumental job explaining how informal institutional practices develop and persist in diverse postwar contexts, and the challenges associated with bringing about change.’

    Rose J. Spalding Source: Journal of Latin American Studies

    ‘Recommended.’

    C. M. Kovic Source: Choice

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    Contents

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