The state-democracy nexus: conceptual distinctions, theoretical perspectives, and comparative approaches

Abstract

The notion that the state and the political regime are conceptually distinct but causally intertwined figures prominently in Western political theory. It is all the more surprising that the potential relationships between the state and democracy have tended to be neglected in empirical research. To systematically interrogate the state-democracy nexus, we argue that three criteria must be fulfilled. First, it is necessary to distinguish conceptually between three distinct aspects of stateness, namely, monopoly on violence, administrative effectiveness, and citizenship agreement. Second, the theoretical relationships between each of these attributes and democracy must be considered. Third, the consequent propositions must be assessed using comparative approaches. We place the different contributions to this special issue in this framework.