The Developmental State as a Social Relation: Reconsidering the Work of Nicos Poulantzas

• In Event: 2180 - Section on Sociology of Development Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Bureaucracy and Institutions I

Abstract

Much of the current discussion on the State and development in the global south involves one of several assumptions. Some take the instrumentalist approach, conceptualizing the State to be run by-and-for those who have ‘captured’ it. This approach says development agendas are set due to the particular backgrounds of those who occupy the positions within the political bureaucracy. Others views the State as an autonomous or neutral locus of power that may promote developmental policies that go against the political-economic interests of elites. This approach often views ‘the state’ as being detached from ‘the economy’ and ‘civil society.’ Both of these approaches fetishize the role of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ institutions that may promote growth, and reify the State as having power in-itself. This paper calls for a re-conceptualization of how scholars study the state, power, and civil society. It proposes we re-consider the insights of the late state-theorist Nicos Poulantzas, as well as scholars who have developed sophisticated neo-Poulantzasian theories on the State and globalization since then. Such a conceptualization sees the state as a social relation, or the material condensation of antagonisms between competing social classes and class fractions, including subaltern groups. It offers a holistic perspective that is attune to both conjunctural variation and structural continuity in development patterns. After outlining many critical Poulantzas-inspired theoretical tools of analysis, this paper concludes that they are vital for a reinvigorated discussion in the State and Development in the global South.

Author

• Jason Mueller, University of California-Irvine