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Modifications to the State-in-Society Approach: A Sharper Focus

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Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

Comparative and Third-World studies have undergone significant paradigmatic changes in recent years, ranging from the ideologically laden poles of the dependency and modernisation approaches of the 1970s to the somewhat more neutral neo-statist perspective of the 1980s. Concurrent with this shift in analytical focus has been a zealous rediscovery of culture and its relevance, to political analysis.1 Out of this intellectually enriching odyssey, and in fact as a synthesis of many of the previous paradigms, has grown a perspective best described as the ‘state-in-society’ paradigm.2 Building such a perspective, this study presents a slightly modified methodology for conceptualising Third-World politics. More specifically, the arguments here seek to sharpen the approach’s focus by pointing to several areas of analysis that the main proponents of the perspective have either completely ignored or have under-emphasised.

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Notes and References

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© 1998 Macmillan Press Ltd

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Kamrava, M. (1998). Modifications to the State-in-Society Approach: A Sharper Focus. In: Poku, N., Pettiford, L. (eds) Redefining the Third World. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26966-2_4

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