Ali Riaz

Unfolding State: The Transformation of Bangladesh Ali Riaz

How do nation-states form in developing societies? In what ways does conflict between contending social forces affect the capacity of the state? What influence does the global economic system have on the state? Policymakers and academics must confront these questions as the debate on state failure in developing countries gains prominence. Unfolding State addresses these questions and offers a new analytical framework for understanding the complexities of state transformation processes in the Third World. Drawing on the experience of the Bangladeshi state over the last three decades, and comparing it with the Tanzanian state, Ali Riaz maintains that historical legacies, the relative strengths of the social classes, and the location of the state within the global economic system create the structure of the state, while its transformation is contingent upon the economic and political crises and the emergence of a counter coalition with definite agendas. Unfolding State is an important contribution to the debate on statehood, and particularly on class formation, state-society relations, and social changes in developing countries.