Social Protection and State–Society Relations in Environments of Low and Uneven State Capacity

Grounded in social-contractual ideas about relationships between the governed and those who govern, provision of social benefits to citizens has historically been predicated on expectations acquiescence state authority. However, rapid expansion noncontributory assistance sub-Saharan Africa, often supported by global donors through technical programs, raises myriad questions relationship protection contract fragile low-capacity contexts. Focusing but drawing theoretical empirical literature from around world, this review parses out redistributive, contractual, reconstitutive effects programming citizen–state relations. We argue that program features—including targeting, conditionality, accountability mechanisms, bureaucratic reach, nature visibility state–nonstate partnerships—interact dialectically with existing state–society engender different outcomes for differently situated populations.