Tilly: "War Making and State Making as Organized Crime" – Flashcards
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Basic Summary
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State making is analogous to organized crime. The state's power becomes legitimate through its establishment as a state. The "protection" offered by the state is analogous to racketeering, and the protection is often for threats created by the state. The modern state evolved in a way to possess a permanent professional military and police force that could enforce state's rules and monopolize power. Basic functions are war making, state making, extraction, and protection. Mainly: use coercion to maintain the state.
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What are rulers of states compared to in this reading? Why is this comparison made, and what is the evidence?
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The government is a protection racket, as they provide the same services: create a threat, and then offer protection for that threat.
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How does organized means of violence fit into growth of government?
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Organized means of violence - allows for monopoly of power that is seen as legitimate. Also allows for capital accumulation.
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How is legitimacy defined, and how do rulers get it?
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Rulers get legitimacy through capital accumulation; they got it through defeating their competitors and expanding their territories (basically acquiring more assets). It's gained through monopolizing power, and legitimizing that monopoly.
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What are three characteristics that develop a state, and how do they interact?
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War making, extraction, capital accumulation - all are interdependnt
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States carry on four different activities; how they they interact, and how are they interdependent?
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War making: eliminating/neutralizing rivals outside territory State making: eliminating/neutralizing rivals inside territory Protection: eliminate/neutralize enemies of clients Extraction: acquiring means of carrying out first 3
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States form in many different ways, but why do states differ in organizational structure and institutionally?
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May need to extract more (tax) in order to gain revenue for war making, get rid of domestic rivals first, etc.
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How did merchants aid the development of efficient large states? Why did the protection of these merchants matter? What role did innovation play?
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Merchants are used as means of protection. They feed the economic structure of state making. Merchants are innovators, so the state can support them, make trading lanes for them, and neutralize their rivals. Better states can be made from subsidizing merchants because you have greater resources.
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Is this a fair way of saying how states formed in Europe? Are there other examples of how states formed in continents other than Europe?
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I think that this is a fair assessment of European state formation. I don't think it represents many states outside of European continent, because there war was not necessarily present to make those states attempt to eliminate domestic rivals and have strong institutions (military, police, tax), or they are at least not seen as legitimate.
