8 - Conclusions

Summary

Chapter 8 summarizes key findings of the book and explores the feedback loops between legitimacy, institutional design, social trust, and effective governance. We also discuss various implications of our findings. First, we turn to the ambivalent role of the state in areas of limited statehood. Effective governance in most issue-areas is not possible without some degree of security and without some basic infrastructure. Yet, the residual state often behaves as a governance spoiler rather than an active supporter. It needs to be tamed by the rule of law and participatory institutions. Second, we discuss the implications for international affairs. The international system shares the “anarchy problematique” with areas of limited statehood. Many IR theories are highly relevant for explaining effective governance in areas of limited statehood – and vice versa. The global governance system and areas of limited statehood are also firmly intertwined in a multi-level governance system. Third, we discuss the political implications of our findings. Most analysts and policy-makers alike agree that comprehensive state-building efforts in ALS have largely failed. Rather than lowering our normative standards, we suggest a paradigm shift from state-building to governance promotion.