Dimensions of state-society relations in Africa
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Citation
Abstract
A central issue in contemporary Africa concerns the problematic nature of state-society relations. The problem stems from the incongruity between the form and character of the state and the underlying social,
economic and political configurations of African societies. This
incongruity undermines the coherence ( the regularized and unambiguous
procedures for the exchange of power and resources) and the performance
(the ability to mobilize and allocate scarce public resources, maintain
territorial integrity, and satisfy societal demands) of the state. Since
most of Africa became independent in the 196Os, a variety of
institutional mechanisms, leadership strategies, and policy measures has
been devised to reduce the incongruity between state and society and
improve state coherence and performance. This paper proposes, in a
preliminary fashion, a framework that analytically and parsimoniously
subsumes these devices under the rubric of three interrelated dimensions
of state-society relations: procedures, personnel, and policy.
Procedures refer to regime characteristics, specifically, to the
institutional arrangements and the so-called "rules of the game" which
enhance the capacity of the state to establish and exert control over
society and to respond to societal demands. Personnel refers to the
political leadership process which animates state institutions and
procedures, and by which state rule and authority are transmitted and
legitimized in society and societal preferences articulated and
represented in the state apparatus. Policy refers to the substantive
content of state actions aimed at distributing burdens and benefits among
competing groups and regions in society and at altering the balance of
political power between these groups and regions, on the one hand, and
the state, on the other, in favor of the state.
I should stress that this paper is essentially a think-piece. The
ideas contained herein are exploratory rather than definitive, and should
not be construed as integrated propositions from which logically
consistent statements about state-society relations in Africa can be
derived. They can be more accurately characterized as a "pre-theoretical 11
attempt to identify a set of relevant variables which can be useful in
developing theoretically
Description
African Studies Center Working Paper No. 102
License
Copyright © 1985, by the author.