{"product_id":"the-scarce-state-9781009261128","title":"The Scarce State","description":"States are often minimally present in the rural periphery. Yet a limited presence does not mean a limited impact. Isolated state actions in regions where the state is otherwise scarce can have outsize, long-lasting effects on society. The Scarce State reframes our understanding of the political economy of hinterlands through a multi-method study of Northern Ghana alongside shadow cases from other world regions. Drawing on a historical natural experiment, the book shows how the contemporary economic and political elite emerged in Ghana's hinterland, linking interventions by an ostensibly weak state to new socio-economic inequality and grassroots efforts to reimagine traditional institutions. The book demonstrates how these state-generated societal changes reshaped access to political power, producing dynastic politics, clientelism, and violence. The Scarce State challenges common claims about state-building and state weakness, provides new evidence on the historical origins of inequality, and reconsiders the mechanisms linking historical institutions to contemporary politics.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50865620779282,"sku":"9781009261128","price":41.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ddb26e4b-fa1f-4809-8893-0aed7ef9c9fa.jpg?v=1737680872","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-scarce-state-9781009261128","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}