Hierarchy and the State: State-Building in the Shadow of American Economic Power

Shea, Patrick E.

ISBN 10: 1009609319 / ISBN 13: 9781009609319

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2025

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 18403864602

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Hierarchy and the State: State-Building in the Shadow of American Economic Power
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009609319
• ISBN 13: 9781009609319
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Does American influence help or hinder the capacity-building of partner states? In Hierarchy and the State, Patrick E. Shea challenges the conventional wisdom that US influence undermines state-building in developing countries, instead arguing that US support has actually enhanced state capacity over the past forty years. The book asserts that American economic power plays a pivotal role in enhancing a state's ability to build and sustain itself. Tracing the evolution of US property rights promotion from 1782 to the present, it reveals the complex interplay of economic and security interests that shape American foreign policy. Through cutting-edge quantitative techniques and original data on US hierarchy, Hierarchy and the State provides robust evidence for the mechanisms linking international influence, property rights, and state-building outcomes. Its novel framework will change the way scholars examine the international politics of state-building.

About the Author

Patrick E. Shea is Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. His research focuses on the political economy of conflict and international finance. He has published in leading journals, including the British Journal of Political Science, and has received funding from the National Science Foundation.