State dysfunction

407 Pages·2000·4.91 MB·English

State dysfunction: The concept and its
application to South Africa

W.N. Greffrath
20293550

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree Philosophiae Doctor in Political Studies at the
Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University

Promoter: Prof André Duvenhage

April 2015
DECLARATION

I declare that this thesis, entitled State dysfunction: The concept and its application to South
Africa, and the work presented in it is my own and has been generated by me as the result of
my own original research.

I confirm that:

1. This work was done wholly while in candidature for a research degree at the North-West
University.

2. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed.

3. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the
exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work.

Wynand Neethling Greffrath
April 2015

i
Dedication and Acknowledgement
Acknowledgements

I gratefully acknowledge the following individuals for their support in this endeavour:

Professor André Duvenhage, for his supervisory contributions and priceless
academic mentorship;

Ms Simone Roos, for her skill in typesetting and page layout;

Colleagues in the Research Focus Area: Social Transformation at the North-West
University, for their support;

Ms Dorothy Hall, for her scrupulous proofreading and comprehensive editing of this
text;

Stephané, for being my soul mate;

Oscar and Anna-Marie, who have coaxed, guided and encouraged their son through
twenty years of study.

In particular, I wish to thank the Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation and its trustees for the
generous financial assistance that made the completion of this thesis possible.

ii
Summary
Summary

The phenomenon of state dysfunction has, over the last two decades, become a prominent
empirical and scholarly concern internationally and, more recently, domestically. This study
endeavours to extend and improve the understanding of dysfunctional states in the scientific
domain – in the developing world in general, as well as the South African context in
particular.

Given the dearth of conceptual literature in the field of dysfunctional states, the first part of
this study concerns the pursuit of a novel conceptualisation of state dysfunction, premised
upon the Weberian state as a comprehensive point of departure. Subsequently, meta-
theoretical, theoretical, applicational and operational frameworks are developed through
which this concept may be integrated by using a scientific method and ultimately studied
empirically in pursuit of valid and reliable knowledge pertaining to the phenomenon.

The outcome of the above-mentioned process is a multi-criteria operational framework that
enables evaluation and analysis with the purpose of determining the approximation to – and
extent of – state dysfunction in a given empirical context. Accordingly, the second part of
this study concerns the evaluation and analysis of the South African state. The outcome of
this process is an account of South African state dysfunction that is at once comprehensive
and thorough.

Key words: State dysfunction; State failure; Political decay; Weberian state; South African
politics.

iii
Opsomming
Opsomming

Die fenomeen van staatverval (oftewel staatsdisfunksionaliteit) het oor die afgelope twee
dekades ʼn noemenswaardige empiriese en akademiese vraagstuk geword, in beide die
internasionale en plaaslike kontekste. Hierdie studie het as doel die verruiming en
verbetering van die verstaan van disfunksionele state in die domein van die wetenskap –
met inbegrip van die ontwikkelende wêreld in die algemeen en die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks
in besonder.

As gevolg van die konseptuele leemte in die wetenskaplike literatuur aangaande
staatsverval, is die eerste deel van die studie gemoeid met ʼn oorspronklike
konseptualisering van die fenomeen, met as omvattende vertrekpunt die Weberiaanse
staatsbegrip. Gevolglik word daar meta-teoretiese, teoretiese, toepassings- en operasionele
raamwerke ontwikkel waarvolgens die konsep met die wetenskaplike metodiek geïntegreer
kan word en, uiteindelik, empiries bestudeer kan word in die nastreef van geldige en
betroubare kennis.

Die uitkoms van die bogenoemde proses is ʼn multi-kriteria operasionele raamwerk wat die
evaluasie en analise van staatserval in ʼn empiriese konteks bemagtig, ten einde die aard en
omvang van die fenomeen te bepaal. Gevolglik, fokus die tweede deel van die studie op die
analise en evaluering van die Suid-Afrikaanse staatskonteks, waarvan die uitslag omvattend
en deeglike rekenskap gee van Suid-Afrikaanse staatsverval.

Sleutelwoorde: Staatsdisfunksie; Staatsverval; Politieke verval; Weberiaanse staat; Suid-
Afrikaanse politiek
iv
Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Dedication and Acknowledgement .........................................................................................ii
Summary .............................................................................................................................. iii
Opsomming .......................................................................................................................... iv
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. 1
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... 8
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ 9
List of Graphs ..................................................................................................................... 10
List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................. 11
Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 14
1.1 Background and Orientation ................................................................................. 14
1.2 Assumptions and points of departure .................................................................... 18
1.3 Problem Statement ............................................................................................... 20
1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 24
1.5 Research Objectives ............................................................................................. 25
1.6 Central Theoretical Statement .............................................................................. 26
1.7 Method and Procedures ........................................................................................ 26
1.8 Key sources and literature review ......................................................................... 27
1.9 Contribution .......................................................................................................... 31
1.10 Chapter Division ................................................................................................... 31
Chapter Two: Meta-scientific and theoretical points of departure ....................................... 34
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 34
2.2 Meta-science ........................................................................................................ 35
2.3 Knowledge ............................................................................................................ 36
2.3.1 Ordinary knowledge ....................................................................................... 36
2.3.2 Scientific knowledge ...................................................................................... 38
2.4 Social Science and Social Science research......................................................... 42
2.5 Disciplines, traditions, and political science ........................................................... 46
1
Table of Contents
2.6 Paradigms ............................................................................................................ 50
2.7 Scientific constructs .............................................................................................. 54
2.7.1 Concepts ....................................................................................................... 55
2.7.2 Definitions ...................................................................................................... 58
2.7.3 Typologies ..................................................................................................... 61
2.7.4 Models ........................................................................................................... 62
2.7.5 Theories ......................................................................................................... 63
2.8 Towards a theoretical framework for this study ..................................................... 64
Chapter Three: Conceptualising the state as ideal-type ................................................... 68
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 68
3.1.1 The state as a concept .................................................................................. 69
3.2. The origin of the state – the universal drive for protection ..................................... 71
3.3 Constructing a concept ......................................................................................... 72
3.4 Constructing a definition of state ........................................................................... 77
3.4.1 Administration ................................................................................................ 78
3.4.2 A monopoly of force ....................................................................................... 82
3.4.3 A compulsory association with binding authority ............................................ 86
3.4.4 Territory ......................................................................................................... 87
3.4.5 Sovereignty .................................................................................................... 88
Chapter Four: Conceptualising the dysfunctional state: Literature survey and theoretical
contextualisation ................................................................................................................. 92
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 92
4.2 Literature survey ................................................................................................... 94
4.3 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 102
4.4 Contextualisation of authors and contributions .................................................... 103
4.4.1 Point of departure: The Weberian functional state ....................................... 103
4.5 Migdal‘s Strong Societies and Weak States ........................................................ 107
4.5.1 Migdal‘s view of the state ............................................................................. 107
4.5.2 The state-in-society approach ...................................................................... 109
2
Table of Contents
4.5.3 Migdal‘s paradigm ........................................................................................ 110
4.6 Huntington‘s Political Order in Changing Societies.............................................. 116
4.6.1 Huntington‘s view of the state ...................................................................... 117
4.6.2 The primacy of political order ....................................................................... 118
4.6.3 The Huntingtonian paradigm ........................................................................ 121
4.6.4 Political order and decay .............................................................................. 123
4.7 Jackson‘s Quasi-states ....................................................................................... 125
4.7.1 Jackson‘s view of the state .......................................................................... 126
4.7.2 Jackson‘s paradigm ..................................................................................... 129
4.7.3 International change during the 20th century ................................................ 133
4.8 van Creveld‘s The Rise and Decline of the State ................................................ 135
4.8.1 van Creveld‘s paradigm ............................................................................... 136
4.8.2 van Creveld‘s view of the state .................................................................... 139
4.9 Bratton and van de Walle‘s Democratic Experiments in Africa ............................ 141
4.9.1 Paradigm and view of the state ................................................................... 141
4.10 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 144
Chapter Five: State dysfunction: Defining the phenomenon and constructing a theoretical
framework for this study .................................................................................................... 146
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 146
5.2 Migdal - States in the developing world ............................................................... 147
5.2.1 Global economic expansion and change ...................................................... 152
5.2.2 Political domination and change .................................................................. 153
5.2.3 The politics of survival .................................................................................. 154
5.2.4 Conceptualisation and conclusion ................................................................ 160
5.3 Huntington - Political institutionalisation and decay ............................................. 163
5.3.1 Gauging institutionalisation .......................................................................... 165
5.3.2 Modernisation and political participation ....................................................... 169
5.3.3 Modernisation and corruption ....................................................................... 172
5.3.4 Praetorianism and political decay ................................................................. 174
3
Table of Contents
5.3.5 Political parties and institutionalisation ......................................................... 179
5.3.6 Revolution in dysfunctional states ................................................................ 181
5.3.7 Conceptualisation and conclusion ................................................................ 184
5.4 Jackson - Dysfunctional states and sovereignty .................................................. 186
5.4.1 Positive and negative sovereignty ................................................................ 189
5.4.2 Old and new sovereignty games .................................................................. 190
5.4.3 International affirmative action ..................................................................... 195
5.4.4 International civility and human rights .......................................................... 199
5.4.5 Conceptualisation and conclusion ................................................................ 202
5.5 Van Creveld – Transformation of war and decline of the state ............................ 204
5.5.1 The changing nature of war-makers ............................................................. 205
5.5.2 Contemporary war and the decline of the state ............................................ 206
5.5.3 Conceptualisation and conclusion ................................................................ 208
5.6 Bratton & van de Walle – Neo-patrimonial rule .................................................... 209
5.6.1 Presidentialism ............................................................................................ 210
5.6.2 Clientelism ................................................................................................... 211
5.6.3 Use of state resources ................................................................................. 212
5.6.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 212
5.7 Synthesis and integration .................................................................................... 214
Chapter Six: State dysfunction: Towards application and operationalisation in the South
African context .................................................................................................................. 219
6.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 219
6.2 Meta-theoretical orientation ................................................................................. 221
6.3 The internal dimension and society as applicational context ............................... 223
6.3.1 Fragmentation of social control .................................................................... 224
6.3.2 A web-like configuration of society ............................................................... 227
6.3.3 Presence and role of non-state actors.......................................................... 227
6.3.4 Competing strategies of survival .................................................................. 228
6.3.5 Towards operationalization .......................................................................... 229
4
Table of Contents
6.4 The intermediate dimension and the institutional applicational context (regime
focus) ........................................................................................................................... 230
6.4.1 Institutionalisation and its evaluation ............................................................ 233
6.4.2 Corruption and maladministration ................................................................ 235
6.4.3 Accommodation and submission.................................................................. 236
6.4.4 Neo-patrimonial rule ..................................................................................... 238
6.4.5 The politics of survival .................................................................................. 239
6.4.6 Praetorianism............................................................................................... 241
6.4.7 Assessing the potential for revolutionary regime change ............................. 243
6.4.8 Towards operationalization .......................................................................... 244
6.5 The external dimension and the international applicational context ..................... 245
6.5.1 Negative sovereignty ................................................................................... 245
6.5.2 The rights to self-determination and non-intervention ................................... 247
6.5.3 International affirmative action ..................................................................... 251
6.5.4 Neglect of human rights ............................................................................... 252
6.5.5 Low intensity warfare ................................................................................... 253
6.5.6 Towards operationalization .......................................................................... 254
6.6 Summary and framework for operationalization .................................................. 255
Chapter Seven: State dysfunction: Operationalisation in the South African environment . 260
7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 260
7.2 PART ONE – The South African societal context ................................................ 261
7.2.1 Profile .......................................................................................................... 261
7.2.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 267
7.2.3 Secondary research question # 1................................................................. 268
7.2.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 272
7.2.5 Secondary research question # 2................................................................. 273
7.2.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 275
7.2.7 Secondary research question # 3................................................................. 276
7.2.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 278
5