The State of African Studies and Studies of the African State
"The Theoretical Softness of the , "Soft State
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2761579 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Fatton (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 170-187 |
| Publication date | 1989-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/15685217-90007246 |
| OpenAlex | W2071034083 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
In spite of profound ideological and methodological differences, African political studies have tended to subscribe to the concept of the "soft state". The concept is grounded in the perception that the typical African state constitutes a weak and corrupt bureaucratic apparatus because it consistently fails to promote the general interest. This perception is flawed because it implies the theoretical expulsion of dass interests from the concept of the state. The reality is that states are never divorced from the material, political, and ideological interests of the ruling dass. The state is therefore never "soft", it is always an organ of dominance, all the more so in African societies which are traversed by processes of ruling dass consolidation requiring the brutal accumulation and dosure of wealth, privilege, and status
African studies · Bureaucracy · Consolidation (business · Dominance (genetics · Economics · Epistemology · Ideology · Perception · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Privilege (computing · Sociology · State (computer science · African cultural and philosophical studies · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,09 |
| Citation span | 1993 - 2009 (17) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |