State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century
Francis Fukuyama famously predicted "the end of history" with the ascendancy of liberal democracy and global capitalism. The topic of his latest book is, therefore, surprising: the building of new nation-states. The end of history was never an automatic procedure, Fukuyama argues, and the well-governed polity was always its necessary precondition. "Weak or failed states are the source of many of the world's most serious problems," he believes. He traces what we know—and more often don't know—about how to transfer functioning public institutions to developing countries in ways that will leave something of permanent benefit to the citizens of the countries concerned. These are important lessons, especially as the United States wrestles with its responsibilities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
Fukuyama begins State-Building with an account of the broad importance of "stateness." He rejects the notion that there can be a science of public administration, and discusses the causes of contemporary state weakness. He ends the book with a discussion of the consequences of weak states for international order, and the grounds on which the international community may legitimately intervene to prop them up.
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State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century
Francis Fukuyama famously predicted "the end of history" with the ascendancy of liberal democracy and global capitalism. The topic of his latest book is, therefore, surprising: the building of new nation-states. The end of history was never an automatic procedure, Fukuyama argues, and the well-governed polity was always its necessary precondition. "Weak or failed states are the source of many of the world's most serious problems," he believes. He traces what we know—and more often don't know—about how to transfer functioning public institutions to developing countries in ways that will leave something of permanent benefit to the citizens of the countries concerned. These are important lessons, especially as the United States wrestles with its responsibilities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
Fukuyama begins State-Building with an account of the broad importance of "stateness." He rejects the notion that there can be a science of public administration, and discusses the causes of contemporary state weakness. He ends the book with a discussion of the consequences of weak states for international order, and the grounds on which the international community may legitimately intervene to prop them up.
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State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century
Francis Fukuyama famously predicted "the end of history" with the ascendancy of liberal democracy and global capitalism. The topic of his latest book is, therefore, surprising: the building of new nation-states. The end of history was never an automatic procedure, Fukuyama argues, and the well-governed polity was always its necessary precondition. "Weak or failed states are the source of many of the world's most serious problems," he believes. He traces what we know—and more often don't know—about how to transfer functioning public institutions to developing countries in ways that will leave something of permanent benefit to the citizens of the countries concerned. These are important lessons, especially as the United States wrestles with its responsibilities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
Fukuyama begins State-Building with an account of the broad importance of "stateness." He rejects the notion that there can be a science of public administration, and discusses the causes of contemporary state weakness. He ends the book with a discussion of the consequences of weak states for international order, and the grounds on which the international community may legitimately intervene to prop them up.
Francis Fukuyama is a senior fellow and the Mosbacher director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. He is the author of Political Order and Political Decay, State-Building, The End of History and the Last Man, The Origins of Political Order, America at the Crossroads, and Falling Behind.
Table of Contents
1. The Missing Dimensions of StatenessThe Contested Role of the StateScope versus StrengthScope, Strength, and Economic DevelopmentThe New Conventional WisdomThe Supply of InstitutionsThe Demand for InstitutionsMaking Things Worse2. Weak States and the Black Hole of Public AdministrationInstitutional Economics and the Theory of OrganizationsThe Ambiguity of GoalsPrincipals, Agents, and IncentivesDecentralization and DiscretionLosing, and Reinventing, the WheelCapacity-Building under Conditions of Organizational Ambiguity: Policy Implications3. Weak States and International LegitimacyThe New EmpireThe Erosion of SovereigntyNation-BuildingDemocratic Legitimacy at an International LevelBeyond the Nation-State4. Smaller but StrongerBibliographyIndex
What People are Saying About This
Richard Swedberg
This book is truly superb. It is exciting to read and has a message of great importance: The current knowledge about the state and nation-building is lacking on several crucial points, some of which can be amended. In particular, it is crucial to draw a sharp line between the scope and the strength of a state. I predict that this book will turn out to be even more important than Francis Fukuyama's other writings.
Robert Klitgaard
It's not often that the words 'visionary' and 'practical' can be applied to the same work. Here they're perfect descriptions. For an era where state building has come to the top of the global agenda, this book provides expert guidance about why it's important and how it might be catalyzed.
Samuel P. Huntington
Francis Fukuyama is a leading analyst of contemporary affairs who has made insightful and distinctive contributions to our understanding of the social and political complexities of today's world.
Robert Kagan
This is a brilliant, sober, insightful look at a difficult issue which happens to be the central issue of our time. For the Bush administration and for its critics, and for leaders and policy-makers across the globe, Francis Fukuyama's analysis should be required reading.
Chester Crocker
State-Building explores with brutal frankness the greatest challenge of our age: how to cope with failed or failing states. Francis Fukuyama's cross-cultural analysis takes the reader on an enlightened journey into the dilemmas of institution-building in weak polities. Fukuyama masterfully highlights the need for America to engage in the arts of state-building to avoid making things worse.