State Legitimacy in a Fragile Context: an anthropological analysis of the Colombian society

In: Freiburger sozialanthropologische Studien, Fribourg studies in social anthropology, Etudes d'anthropologie social de l'Universite de Fribourg, band 53

Abstract

During the course of the last decades, the state experienced a revival on the scene of international development, as there has been a growing acknowledgment amongst the international development community that the state plays a key role in enabling development in a specific society. Therefore, the role of the state and especially the concept of state-building have occupied a central place in the development discourse. In that respect, a growing interest has manifested itself in the discussion and analysis around so-called "fragile states." The author discussed the development discourse around that state-building paradigm in general and focuses through its field research in Colombia specifically on the question of the state legitimacy in so-called fragile contexts