Open AccessRevisiting Governance: Extended Statehood in Africa and Beyond
Author(s) -
Olaf Bachmann,
Funmi Olonisakin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the journal of leadership and developing societies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2399-2859
DOI - 10.47697/lds.3434800
Subject(s) - argument (complex analysis) , politics , corporate governance , theme (computing) , power (physics) , subject (documents) , state (computer science) , element (criminal law) , political economy , political science , sociology , positive economics , law and economics , epistemology , social contract , economic system , law , economics , mathematics , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , philosophy , finance , algorithm , quantum mechanics , library science , computer science , operating system
This article sets the theme for this issue. Weberian understanding of statehood has been valid and dominant for 100 years. However, it no longer reflects the complex dynamics of the superstructure resting on the social contract. One must acknowledge the widening frame of social and political influence and take it into account to make true sense of decades of failure in attempted state-building. Africa provides the scene for this argument as original focus of an ALC research project on the State in, and of, the Global South. Resulting from empirical evidence and analysis, this article not only offers the post-Weberian model of Extended Statehood, but also suggests its applicability within the realities of multilevel governance. Formal political order, even if remaining essential, has become a co-dependent element subject to fluctuating spheres of power. This research makes such dynamics visible.