State Building in the Developing World
A Princeton Network
There is growing consensus among scholars and policy makers of development that effective states are deeply consequential for molding the life chances of citizens in the developing world. It has been clearly established that working democracies require effective states and that functioning markets are impossible without institutional governance. It is also clear that some parts of the developing world have acquired more effective states than others. While the study of the state has a long pedigree, what exactly constitutes effective states in a developing country setting, where such states come from, and how less effective states might become more effective are issues that remain underexplored.
We have created a global network of scholars to establish an on-going international research cohort that aims to improve the comparative analysis of states and their development. Such a network will promote long-term institutional linkages, improve a global research effort, promote career advancement of scholars, including graduate students, and provide key scholarly and policy insights.