Fukuyama, Francis. 2004. State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, Oct, 2004 by Christopher J. Coyne

One potential avenue for understanding this aspect of state building can be found in communications theory--specifically, the two-step flow of communications hypothesis. In its simplest form, this hypothesis says that information is not simply made publicly available and accepted by the populace. Instead, public information is filtered through opinion leaders and then passed on to the populace. One finds a similar notion in diffusion theory developed by sociologists. This theory, considers how an idea, innovation, or product moves through a social system. Much of the diffusion literature makes reference to opinion leaders--those who are the first to adopt an idea or product. In both theories, these opinion leaders have well-established reputations and hence create convergence. In the context of state building, the issue is how to identify and incorporate these opinion leaders into state-building efforts in order to coordinate the populace around the aims of those efforts.

Despite these issues, Fukuyama's book offers many important insights into the complex process of state building. The author not only provides a framework for understanding the process, but also provides an insightful analysis of the various forces at work in transferring institutional and governance capabilities. Policymakers will find many important lessons applicable to current and future state-building efforts. Academics will find interesting questions that will serve as the basis for future research in this area.

References

Fukuyama, Francis. (1999). The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order. New York: Free Press.

Christopher J. Coyne

George Mason University