IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecl/harjfk/rwp13-041.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

South Sudan's Capability Trap: Building a State with Disruptive Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Larson, Greg

    (Harvard University)

  • Ajak, Peter Biar

    (University of Cambridge and Center for Strategic Analyses and Research)

  • Pritchett, Lant

    (Harvard University and Center for Global Development)

Abstract

The prevailing aid orthodoxy works well enough in stable environments, but is ill-equipped to navigate contexts of volatility and fragility. The orthodox approach is adept at solving straightforward technical or logistical problems (paving roads, building schools, immunizing children), but often struggles or outright fails when faced with complex, adaptive challenges (fighting corruption, upholding the rule of law, establishing democratic institutions). South Sudan, the world's newest country, presents a post-conflict environment full of complex, adaptive challenges. Prior to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 South Sudan had no formal institutions of self-governance. During the CPA period and after independence in 2011, foreign development agencies have contributed billions of dollars of aid and technical assistance to "build capacity" in the nascent Government of South Sudan (GoSS). The donors utilized approaches and mechanisms of support that at least nominally reflect the prevailing aid orthodoxy. We argue that orthodox state building and capacity building more or less failed in South Sudan, leaving the world's newest country mired in a "capability trap" (Andrews et al 2012). Despite countless trainings, workshops, reforms, and a large corps of foreign technical assistants embedded within state ministries, there is an absence of real change, and GoSS now "looks like a state" but performs as anything but. The challenges presented by this new, complicated, post-conflict country demand innovative approaches to building state capability which go beyond importing "best practice" solutions while feigning "client ownership." We explore one such approach to disruptive innovation that has emerged: Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA). To escape from the world's newest capability trap, South Sudan's government and its international donors must challenge themselves to imagine innovative paths to state building, which diverge from "business as usual" and attempt to create something that lasts.

Suggested Citation

  • Larson, Greg & Ajak, Peter Biar & Pritchett, Lant, 2013. "South Sudan's Capability Trap: Building a State with Disruptive Innovation," Working Paper Series rwp13-041, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
  • Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp13-041
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=993
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Canavire-Bacarreza, Gustavo & Nunnenkamp, Peter & Thiele, Rainer & Triveño, Luis, 2005. "Assessing the allocation of aid: Developmental concerns and the self-interest of donors," Kiel Working Papers 1253, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2013. "Escaping Capability Traps Through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 234-244.
    3. Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock & Matt Andrews, 2013. "Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2004. "Solutions When the Solution is the Problem: Arraying the Disarray in Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 191-212, February.
    5. David Booth, 2011. "Aid, Institutions and Governance: What Have We Learned?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 29, pages 5-26, January.
    6. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-64 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2013. "Escaping Capability Traps Through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 234-244.
    8. Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock & Matt Andrews, 2013. "Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 1-18, January.
    9. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-63 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. World Bank, 2012. "Republic of South Sudan : Country Integrated Fiduciary Assessment Southern Sudan, Volume 1. Main Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 16072, The World Bank Group.
    11. World Bank, 2010. "Sudan - Strengthening Good Governance for Development Outcomes in Southern Sudan : Issues and Options," World Bank Publications - Reports 2854, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Michael Woolcock, 2014. "Engaging with Fragile and Conflict-Affected States: An Alternative Approach to Theory, Measurement and Practice," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-097, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2017. "Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198747482.
    3. Milante Gary & Woolcock Michael, 2017. "New Approaches to Identifying State Fragility," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, June.
    4. World Bank, 2017. "Somali Poverty Profile, June 2017," World Bank Publications - Reports 28470, The World Bank Group.
    5. Utz Pape & Nicola Pontara, 2015. "Alternative Social Safety Nets in South Sudan," World Bank Publications - Reports 22499, The World Bank Group.
    6. LeRoux-Rutledge, Emily, 2020. "Re-evaluating the “traditional”: How the South Sudanese use established gender narratives to advance women’s equality and empowerment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    7. Woolcock, Michael, 2014. "Engaging with fragile and conflict-affected states: An alternative approach to theory, measurement and practice," WIDER Working Paper Series 097, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lant Pritchett & Salimah Samji & Jeffrey S. Hammer, 2012. "It's All about MeE: Using Structured Experiential Learning ('e') to Crawl the Design Space," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-104, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Larson, Greg & Ajak, Peter Biar & Pritchett, Lant, 2013. "South Sudan's Capability Trap: Building a State with Disruptive Innovation," Working Paper Series rwp13-041, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    3. Lant Pritchett & Salimah Samji & Jeffrey Hammer, 2012. "It’s All About MeE: Using Structured Experiential Learning (‘e’) to Crawl the Design Space," CID Working Papers 249, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    4. Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock & Matt Andrews, 2013. "Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Jeremy Streatfeild, 2017. "Does This Road Go on Forever? Modelling Sustainability of Infrastructure in Developing Countries," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 9(2), pages 69-81, December.
    6. Matt Andrews, 2013. "Who Really Leads Development?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-092, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Matt Andrews, 2014. "An Ends-Means Approach to Looking at Governance," CID Working Papers 281, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    8. Andrews, Matt, 2014. "An Ends-Means Approach to Looking at Governance," Working Paper Series rwp14-022, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Lodewijk Smets & Stephen Knack, 2018. "World Bank Policy Lending and the Quality of Public-Sector Governance," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(1), pages 29-54.
    10. Lawson, Andrew & Harris, Jamelia, 2023. "Is the problem driven iterative adaptation approach (PDIA) a panacea for public financial management reform? Evidence from six African countries," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    11. Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock & Matt Andrews, 2013. "Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 1-18, January.
    12. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-63 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2017. "Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198747482.
    14. Matt Andrews & Lant Pritchett & Michael Woolcock, 2015. "The Challenge of Building (Real) State Capability," CID Working Papers 306, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    15. Osborne, Matthew & Lambe, Fiona & Ran, Ylva & Dehmel, Naira & Tabacco, Giovanni Alberto & Balungira, Joshua & Pérez-Viana, Borja & Widmark, Erik & Holmlid, Stefan & Verschoor, Arjan, 2022. "Designing development interventions: The application of service design and discrete choice experiments in complex settings," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    16. Nick Manning & Joanna Watkins, 2013. "Targeting Results, Diagnosing the Means," World Bank Publications - Reports 25488, The World Bank Group.
    17. Ricks, Jacob I. & Doner, Richard F., 2021. "Getting institutions right: Matching institutional capacities to developmental tasks," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    18. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2015. "Doing Problem Driven Work," Working Paper Series 15-073, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    19. Gulrajani, Nilima, 2017. "Bilateral Donors and the Age of the National Interest: What Prospects for Challenge by Development Agencies?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 375-389.
    20. Andrews, Matt, 2013. "Who Really Leads Development?," WIDER Working Paper Series 092, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Campos, J. Edgardo & Randrianarivelo, Benjamina & Winning, Kay, 2013. "Escaping the capability trap: turning"small"development into"big"development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6717, The World Bank.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General
    • L30 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - General
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp13-041. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ksharus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.