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Constructing the State: Macro Strategies, Micro Incentives, and the Creation of Police Forces in Colonial Namibia

Author

Listed:
  • Alexander De Juan

    (GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies and the University of Konstanz)

  • Fabian Krautwald

    (Princeton University)

  • Jan Henryk Pierskalla

    (The Ohio State University)

Abstract

How do states build a security apparatus after violent resistance against state rule? This article argues that in early periods of state building two main factors shape the process: the macro-strategic goals of the state and administrative challenges of personnel management. These dynamics are studied in the context of the establishment of police forces in the settler colony of German Southwest Africa, present-day Namibia. The empirical analysis relies on information about the location of police stations and a near full census of police forces, compiled from the German Federal Archives. A mismatch is found between the allocation of police presence and the allocation of police personnel. The first was driven by the strategic value of locations in terms of extractive potential, political importance, and the presence of critical infrastructure, whereas the allocation of individual officers was likely affected by adverse selection, which led to the assignment of low-quality recruits to strategically important locations.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander De Juan & Fabian Krautwald & Jan Henryk Pierskalla, 2017. "Constructing the State: Macro Strategies, Micro Incentives, and the Creation of Police Forces in Colonial Namibia," Politics & Society, , vol. 45(2), pages 269-299, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:45:y:2017:i:2:p:269-299
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329217705352
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