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State First? A Disaggregation and Empirical Interrogation

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  • Andersen, David
  • Doucette, Jonathan

Abstract

This letter is the first to systematically scrutinize the multifaceted claim that a strong state promotes democratic development. It analyzes new Varieties of Democracy data from 1789 to 2015 to specify and examine eight different versions of this ‘state-first’ argument in analyses that span the entire era of modern democracy. The authors document that high levels of bureaucratic quality at the time of the first democratic transition and during democratic spells are positively associated with democratic survival and deepening. By contrast, state capacity has no robust effects on democratic survival or deepening and does not condition the impact of bureaucratic quality. These findings underline the importance of particular features of a strong state as well as the importance of a disaggregated approach. They imply that democratic development is better aided by strengthening the impartiality of bureaucratic organizations than by building capacity for territorial control.

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  • Andersen, David & Doucette, Jonathan, 2022. "State First? A Disaggregation and Empirical Interrogation," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(1), pages 408-415, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:52:y:2022:i:1:p:408-415_22
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Vaccaro, 2023. "Digging deeper into the state-democracy nexus: The role of civic participation in fostering impartial bureaucracy," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-85, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Tarald Gulseth Berge & Øyvind Stiansen, 2023. "Bureaucratic capacity and preference attainment in international economic negotiations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 467-498, July.
    3. Kyriacou, Andreas, 2023. "Pre-suffrage impartiality, democratic experience and clientelism: How sequencing matters," MPRA Paper 115910, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Lars Pelke, 2023. "Reanalysing the link between democracy and economic development," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 26(4), pages 361-383, December.

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