The making of hybrid stateness: sources of police performance in the conurbano

Abstract

By default, stateness is usually considered as a state's legal ability to deliver goods or services. This understanding implies that stateness is structured by the rule of law. However, as historical and current examples show, this legal ability often relies on practices that one would define as illegal and that any measure of "stateness" must take into account. Using the case of the Police of the Province of Buenos Aires as an example, I propose the notion of hybrid stateness i.e. an understanding of stateness that considers the state's ability to operate illegally. This short piece addresses the institutional and budgetary setting of the provincial police force and tackles the question of where the illegal resources for performing police's duties come from.