A Theory of Latecomer State Formation

Abstract

This chapter examines the two processes of state-formation: territory consolidation and violence monopolization. It explains that territory consolidation refers to the process by which an emerging political center decides which regions to include within its jurisdiction and which to exclude. It also highlights the importance of state-formation in the capacity of territory consolidation, emphasizing it as the source of a modern country's political geography. The chapter considers “state building” as a new phrase for an old concept, which can be traced to Max Weber's original notion of bureaucratization and the transition from patrimonial rule to meritocratic administration. It cites Guillermo O'Donnell's work on Latin America, which argues that variations in state capacity across contemporary cases are as the variation experienced in the rise of modern western Europe.