The theory of failure and the failure of theory: ‘state failure’, the idea of the state and the practice of state building

Abstract

This article provides a critique of the discourse of ‘failed states’ and outlines an alternative approach to studying state formation. It is argued that through its taking the model of the modern state for granted, and analysing all states in terms of their degree of correspondence with or deviation from this model, the failed states discourse does not help us understand the nature of the states in question or the processes that lead to strong or weak states. It is suggested that the idea of the modern state should be treated as a category of practice rather than as a category of analysis. State formation could then be analysed by focusing on the interrelationship between the idea of the state and actual state practices, and on both the ways in which states have become linked to domestic society and their relations with the external world.

Citation

Sundstøl Eriksen, S. (2010), "The theory of failure and the failure of theory: ‘state failure’, the idea of the state and the practice of state building", Berg Harpviken, K. (Ed.) Troubled Regions and Failing States: The Clustering and Contagion of Armed Conflicts (Comparative Social Research, Vol. 27), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0195-6310(2010)0000027005