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Constructing the State: Macro Strategies, Micro Incentives, and the Creation of Police Forces in Colonial Namibia
[journal article]
Abstract How do states build a security apparatus after violent resistance against state rule? This article argues that in early periods of state building two main factors shape the process: the macro-strategic goals of the state and administrative challenges of personnel management. These dynamics are studi... view more
How do states build a security apparatus after violent resistance against state rule? This article argues that in early periods of state building two main factors shape the process: the macro-strategic goals of the state and administrative challenges of personnel management. These dynamics are studied in the context of the establishment of police forces in the settler colony of German Southwest Africa, present-day Namibia. The empirical analysis relies on information about the location of police stations and a near full census of police forces, compiled from the German Federal Archives. A mismatch is found between the allocation of police presence and the allocation of police personnel. The first was driven by the strategic value of locations in terms of extractive potential, political importance, and the presence of critical infrastructure, whereas the allocation of individual officers was likely affected by adverse selection, which led to the assignment of low-quality recruits to strategically important locations.... view less
Keywords
Namibia; colonialism; state formation; post-colonialism; police; security; state authority; oppression; monopoly on violence; political history; colonial policy
Classification
General History
Free Keywords
Deutsch-Südwestafrika; Repressalien
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 269-299
Journal
Politics & Society, 45 (2017) 2
Issue topic
The Comparative Politics of Colonialism and Its Legacies
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329217705352
ISSN
1552-7514
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications
With the permission of the rights owner, this publication is under open access due to a (DFG-/German Research Foundation-funded) national or Alliance license.