Alan whaites

= Overview =

British political theorist most associated with work on the State and State-building.

Early Work

Early work on civil society theory and the relationship between civil society and the state. Best known early piece is probably `Let's get civil society straight' originally appearing in journal form and then as part of an Oxfam politics of development reader [http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/372731_666_713660880.pdf] . Whaites' argued that civil society had become a panacea for policy-makers (this was in the early 1990s) without due regard to the complexities involved, including the politics inherent within civil society. This was followed by `NGOs,' Civil Society and the State,' arguing that civil society should be viewed within the context of the health of the wider `state' [http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/648985_666_713661019.pdf] . Although this period is seen as characterized by work on civil society Whaites' also wrote on South Asian Politics [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a777100293~tab=send] .

Writings on the State

In the late 1990s Whaites moved into a more active role in development policy by taking the post of global advocacy director with the large American Christian NGO, World Vision International. In this period World Vision produced some heavyweight policy reports and took a visible role in NGO campaigns. Whaites contribution included authoring a number of reports. His work showed evolving thinking on the State and the impact of global development policies on the way that governments are able to operate in African and Asia. Perhaps the key work from this period is `Masters of their own Development' [http://www.globalempowerment.org/PolicyAdvocacy/pahome2.5.nsf/gereports/2F5A3063A14B01C388256E46008360D1/$file/MastersPRSPs%20P.pdf] although also useful is `Precarious States' [http://www.globalempowerment.org/PolicyAdvocacy/pahome2.5.nsf/gereports/B611340498AE3A7988256E46008360A8/$file/Precarious.pdf] .

The Whaites' Model of the state

Whaites is most associated with a model of the way that states do or do not work. The model was developed as part of Whaites' work as a politcal scientist with the British Government,'s Department for International Development (overseas aid agency) and Whaites points to background research funded by both DFID and the OECD-DAC as key sources of influence. The Whaites model is seen as less idealized than other attempts to explain the relationship between state and society (such as the Social Contract). Instead Whaites' stresses understanding `how things are' rather than `how we would like them to be.' The model points to three essential `areas' that determine the nature of how states work (whether good or bad). The first is a Political settlement, the second is the degree of commitment of political elites to a few key state `survival functions' (such as taxation and security) and the third is the willingness of elites to respond to public expectations [http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/State-in-Development-Wkg-Paper.pdf] .

The model argues that if elites form a political settlement which then emphasizes survival functions this is likely to create pressures to respond to expectations. He draws on JC Scotts concept of states making their society's `legible' in order to build state systems, creating mutually reinforcing relationships. Whaites' argues that some political settlements are formed in ways that reduce incentives to strengthen state functions. These are uneasy settlements where elites lack leadership or a state-building vision and instead the loose relationships create pressures to use mechanisms such as Patrimonialism. Whaites lists a number of factors that are likely to influence the direction that the three key areas are likely to take and which will determine the nature of the overall state-building dynamic. He also offers a typography and definition of political settlements. The model was published as a think piece with comments from the original panel of expert advisers [http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/Expert-feedback.pdf] .

There has been some discussion of whether Whaites' concept of `responsive' and `unresponsive' state-building is helpful, or whether Weberian terms such as `modern' and `traditional' should be used, or simply `good dynamics' and `bad dynamics.' The logic in the original work seems to suggest that `responsive' conveys the need for mutual engagement between state and society, although there does seem to be an inference that responsive state-building will lead to the dominance of the Weberian `Modern' state. It is also probably best to read Whaites in conjunction with other work that argues strongly for pragmatic analysis and approaches to state capacity and capacity development, such as Merilee Grindel's `Good Enough Governance' approach. Essentially Whaites' work fits into a tradition of trying to balance the idea of development as purely `technical' with an acknowledgment that it is also a product of deep, underlying political forces that are often difficult for outsiders to analyze and understand.

References

Bibliographies of Whaites works can be found on some UN information sites, particularly [http://unjobs.org/authors/alan-whaites] and [http://unbisnet.un.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12202165AC410.279103&profile=bib&uri=link=3100010~!624728~!3100001~!3100040&aspect=alpha&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizon&term=Whaites%2C+Alan&index=AUTHOR]
* Grindle, Merilee, Good Enough Governance, [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118790505/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0]
* Grindle, Merilee, Good Enough Governance Redux, [http://www.odi.org.uk/events/states_06/29thMar/Grindle%20Paper%20gegredux2005.pdf]
* Migdal, Joel, `State in Society,' [http://www.amazon.com/State-Society-Societies-Constitute-Comparative/dp/052179286X/ref=sr_1_2/102-7629563-5870552?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223744423&sr=1-2]
* Whaites, Alan, `Let's Get Civil Society Straight, Development in Practice 1996
* Whaites, Alan, `NGOs, Civil Society and the State, Development in Practice 1998
* Whaites, Alan et al, `Masters of their Own Development,' World Vision International 2002
* Whaites, Alan et al, `Precarious States,' World Vision International 2001
* Whaites, Alan et al, `Development Dilemmas: NGO Challenges and Ambiguities,' World Vision International, 2002
* Scott, JC, `Seeing Like a State,' [http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Like-State-Condition-Institution/dp/0300078153]