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On the Autonomy of the Democratic State: How Mass Democracy Promotes State Power

DeCanio, Samuel
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1218519180

Abstract Details

2008, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
Previous scholarship on states’ autonomy from the interests of society has focused primarily on nondemocratic societies, raising the question of whether “state theory” is relevant to modern states. Public-opinion research documenting the ignorance of mass polities suggests that modern states may be as autonomous as, or more autonomous than, premodern states. Premodern states’ autonomy was secured by their ability to suppress societal dissent by force of arms. Modern states may have less recourse to overt coercion, but the very thing that legitimates them in the eyes of society – democracy – virtually ensures that society will not control the state, since the putative agent of control, the electorate, cannot possibly be well informed about the multitudinous tasks undertaken by modern governments. Instead of focusing on the autonomy enhancing effects of armies, taxes, and bureaucracies, state theorists should direct their attention to how the vagaries of public opinion and the legitimating effects of popular elections fuel state autonomy in democratic societies.
Gregory Caldeira (Committee Chair)
Kathleen McGraw (Committee Member)
Lawrence Baum (Committee Member)
289 p.
Political Science
State autonomy; democracy; public opinion; state formation; American political development; populism; Treasury Department

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • DeCanio, S. (2008). On the Autonomy of the Democratic State: How Mass Democracy Promotes State Power [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1218519180

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • DeCanio, Samuel. On the Autonomy of the Democratic State: How Mass Democracy Promotes State Power. 2008. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1218519180.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • DeCanio, Samuel. "On the Autonomy of the Democratic State: How Mass Democracy Promotes State Power." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1218519180

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.