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Social protection and state-society relations in environments of low and uneven state capacity

Author

Listed:
  • Alik-Lagrange, Arthur
  • Dreier, Sarah K.
  • Lake, Milli
  • Porisky, Alesha

Abstract

Grounded in social-contractual ideas about relationships between the governed and those who govern, the provision of social benefits to citizens has historically been predicated on expectations of acquiescence to state authority. However, the rapid expansion of noncontributory social assistance in sub-Saharan Africa, often supported by global donors through technical assistance programs, raises myriad questions about the relationship between social protection and the social contract in fragile and low-capacity contexts. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, but drawing on the theoretical and empirical literature on social protection from around the world, this review parses out the redistributive, contractual, and reconstitutive effects of social protection programming on citizen-state relations. We argue that program features—including targeting, conditionality, accountability mechanisms, bureaucratic reach, and the nature and visibility of state-nonstate partnerships—interact dialectically with existing state-society relationships to engender different social contract outcomes for differently situated populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Alik-Lagrange, Arthur & Dreier, Sarah K. & Lake, Milli & Porisky, Alesha, 2021. "Social protection and state-society relations in environments of low and uneven state capacity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124846, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:124846
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124846/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Coady & Margaret Grosh & John Hoddinott, 2004. "Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries : Review of Lessons and Experience," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 14902.
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    4. Giovanni Carbone & Alessandro Pellegata, 2017. "To Elect or Not to Elect: Leaders, Alternation in Power and Social Welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(12), pages 1965-1987, December.
    5. Nicola Jones & Rebecca Holmes, 2011. "Why is Social Protection Gender‐blind? The Politics of Gender and Social Protection," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(6), pages 45-52, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social contract; Social protection; state capacity; state society relations; sub-Saharan Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

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