Open AccessPradip N. Khandwalla. Revitalising the State: A Menu ofOptions. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1999. Indian Rs 250.00.304 pages.
Author(s) -
Mir Annice Mahmood
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v38i1pp.121-122
Subject(s) - state (computer science) , commonwealth , language change , politics , welfare state , corporate governance , developmental state , political economy , political science , sociology , development economics , law , economics , management , computer science , art , literature , algorithm
In recent years discussions about the role of the state havebeen intense. Some argue in favour of an increased role of the state inthe life of the people; others argue for a lesser and diminished role.Whatever the arguments, it is generally felt that the role of the statehas been de-emphasised in recent years thereby making it unable tosustain the economic well-being of the people. This book, by presentinga number of suggestions, is an attempt to reinvigorate the state to makeit more in tune with the requirements of the people. Using history as aguide, the author identifies four main models of the state that havedeveloped in the twentieth century. These can be categorised as (i) theinterventionist welfare state; (ii) the developmental state; (iii) the'reinvented' entrepreneurial state, and (iv) the World Bank model of thehumane market-friendly state. After categorising these different typesof states he proceeds to analyse the reasons behind the decay of thestate. These include their growing size and complexity, corruption, poorgovernance, weak political structures etc. to mention a few. At the sametime, he also examines same success stories from the Commonwealth andEast Asian countries. These include Australia, New Zealand, andSingapore to name a few. From these success stories the author putsforward what, in his view, are steps aimed at revitalising the state,particularly in developing countries.