Unpacking the Strength of the State: The Utility of State Infrastructural Power

States are central to development and human well-being. In Afghanistan, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which for many contemporary commentators epitomize weak or fragile states, the inability to provide security and establish a presence throughout their territory has left local communities vulnerable to warlords and militias and undermined the prospect of economic growth and basic social provision. Other states, for instance Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Peru, have been better able to bring an end to enduring cycles of civil violence and warfare. Yet the provision of basic security and public goods remains fragmented and confined to certain territorial areas, leaving out substantial parts of the population. Unlike these countries, a wide range of others, including Costa Rica and the Indian state of Kerala, while by no means endowed with a strong state by any conventional means, St Comp Int Dev DOI 10.1007/s12116-008-9030-z