How the U.S. State Works: A Theory of Standardization

Many existing accounts of the American state search for identifiable features of stateness recognizable from the comparative politics of state theory. These are less present in the US because of a distinct history, institutional separation of powers, and an ideological populism based in opposition t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perspectives on politics 2011-09, Vol.9 (3), p.505-518
Main Authors: King, Desmond, Stears, Marc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American history
Armed Forces
Citizenship
Civil rights
Comparative government
Comparative Politics
Democracy
Frequency standards
Government and politics
Government regulation
Government standards
Liberalism
Litigation
Nineteenth Century
Political order
Political power
Populism
Public administration
Public Sector
Regulation
Representative government
Revenue
Separation of Powers
Standardization
State theory
Statehood
U.S.A
United States
United States history
United States of America
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Summary:Many existing accounts of the American state search for identifiable features of stateness recognizable from the comparative politics of state theory. These are less present in the US because of a distinct history, institutional separation of powers, and an ideological populism based in opposition to public sector expansion. Despite these constraints the American state is a powerful actor in US politics and has been since the nineteenth century engaged in familiar revenue raising, regulatory, public order, coercive, military, and distributive functions. To understand these we propose a framework based on how the endogenous drive to standardize shapes these functions and gives a distinct character to the American state. We identify impulses to standardize, instruments of standardization, and enduring obstacles to this agenda.
ISSN:1537-5927
1541-0986
DOI:10.1017/S1537592711002726