Political Science Faculty Publications
Title
Governments Against States: The Logic of Self-Destructive Despotism
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War, and particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the study of state failure and collapse has become a field in its own right. Nonetheless, attempts to predict the occurrence of state failure continue to rely on "off-the-shelf" data collected for other purposes and have not been very successful. There is a need to find data that is more specific to the issue of state failure, and a better body of theory is needed to identify causal patterns. Case studies offer a promising way forward, and analysis of the failure of the Somalian and Afghan states suggest a pattern in which the collapse of the state is precipitated by rulers attacking the state apparatus in order to prevent opposition by the bureaucracy and military. The cases of Somalia and Afghanistan are discussed in detail and their implications for studies of state failure are considered.
Copyright Statement
Post-print
Repository Citation
Englehart, Neil A., "Governments Against States: The Logic of Self-Destructive Despotism" (2007). Political Science Faculty Publications. 43.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/poli_sci_pub/43
Publication Date
3-2007
Publication Title
International Political Science Review
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page No.
133
End Page No.
153