The GOVERNANCE blog

Governance: An international journal of policy, administration and institutions

How ‘delegation deals’ build state capacity

In the current issue of Governance, Aila Matanock of the University of California, Berkeley asks whether governance delegation agreements — international treaties by which states cede legal authority to external actors for fixed terms — can be effective in statebuilding.  The answer, she concludes, is yes, largely because these “delegation deals” have domestic support from a ruling coalition.  Matanock draws on statistical analysis of United Nations missions as well as discussion of specific cases, including the Australia-led mission to the Solomon Islands undertaken in 2003, a “canonical case of full governance delegation” that “succeeded in restoring the rule of law and strengthening governance.”  Read the article.  The article is part of a special issue on governance in areas of limited statehood edited by Thomas Risse and Stephen Krasner.

Written by Governance

November 22, 2014 at 7:31 am

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