State Matters by Nida Alahmad - 9781009673952

Name: State Matters by Nida Alahmad - 9781009673952
Brand: Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press

State MattersTheorizing State Fragmentation and Consolidation from Iraq\nAuthor(s): Nida Alahmad\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781009673952, 978-1009673952\nSynopsis\nWhy does the state matter to its people? How do people know and experience the state? And how did the state come to be both desired and dreaded by its subjects? This study offers a historically grounded social theoretical account of state consolidation in Iraq, from the foundation of the country as a League of Nations British Mandate in 1921 through to the post-2003 era. Through analysis of key historical episodes of state consolidation (and fragmentation) during the past century, Nida Alahmad argues that consolidation rests on two sequential and interdependent factors. First, domination: the state's capacity to dominate land and population. Second, legitimation: whereby the state is accepted and expected by the population to be .