Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics

by Andrew Radin

The effort to improve state institutions in post-conflict societies is a complicated business. Even when foreign intervention is carried out with the best of intentions and the greatest resources, it often fails. What can account for this failure? In Institution Building in Weak States, Andrew Radin argues that the international community's approach to building state institutions needs its own reform. This innovative book proposes a new strategy, rooted in a rigorous analysis of recent missions.

In contrast to the common strategy of foreign interveners--imposing models drawn from Western countries--Radin shows how pursuing incremental change that accommodates local political interests is more likely to produce effective, accountable, and law-abiding institutions. Drawing on extensive field research and original interviews, Radin examines efforts to reform the central government, military, and police in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Iraq, and Timor-Leste. Based on his own experience in defense reform in Ukraine after 2014, Radin also draws parallels with efforts to improve state institutions outside of post-conflict societies.

Institution Building in Weak States introduces a domestic opposition theory that better explains why institution building fails and what is required to make it work. With actionable recommendations for smarter policy, the book offers an important corrective for scholars and practitioners of post-conflict missions, international development, peacebuilding, and security cooperation.

272 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2020

Reviews

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics by Andrew Radin is a good social science book, but I often struggled to pay attention to the book. The research methodology was clear, the writing was crisp, the point of the research was stated with clarity and frequency, and the subject matter itself was interesting. Even so, this was a bit boring, if I'm being honest. You actually don't really need any of the case studies. The first two chapters tell you everything you would ever need to know about the book, with perhaps a quick skim of the conclusion. Radin is an exemplar to the social scientist trying to be more policy oriented, but it is unfortunate that something about the writing just didn't hold my attention.

The main point though is arguably critical: institutional reform from the outside is not doomed to failure due to path dependent processes, but can be successful if it adequately engages with local client-patron relations. IE, to reform the state, it is better to do so one step at a time so as to not fundamentally challenge the local power brokers and political arrangements. It is almost always preferable to have a few inches of progress than to reach for a mile and fail to achieve anything. This is pretty close to common sense, but it is good that Radin went through the scholarly journey to demonstrate it through his case studies. He was a little choosy at times with his interpretation, but you can keep that in your back pocket.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very excellent book and is a must read for students of international development. The author is very clear and straightforward, which is welcome for many academic works.