"State In Society"-Research On Joel S.Migdal's State Theory

Joel S.Migdal,based on the criticism of statism and empirical investigation of the third world countries,proposed the “state in society ” theoretical approach.As the middle level theory of state,this model has enriched the state concept,state capacity,the state-society relations and state-building theories on the one hand and provides a hint to research field considering power,social control and identity in the context of the third world on the other.This paper focus on "state in society" approach,studies like state-social relations,national capabilities,citizenship are included which consist of Migdal's state theory as a whole.The author make effert to present,analyze and comment on it.Accordingly,the main body of the thesis is divided into three parts.The first part introduce “state in society ”.Since the “state in society ” is the research approach and the main body of Migdal's state theory as well.Therefore,in order to catch the core spirit of the theory,this article choose to along the “elements-content-application” path.Specifically,as a logical starting point,Migdal redefined the state and reconstructed society.Then the content of “state in society ” is discussed according to the two levels of analysis unit and mechanism.The following parts considering “state disruption” “state board and state-social boundaries” are the applications of the theoretical framework of “state in society ”.These are fields explained under “ state in society” approach.The last part is the comment of Migdal's state theory.To sum up,firstly,“state in society” provoke a new perspective of the state-society relations which holds the state and society are mutual conditioning.Therefore,state capacity,boundaries,citizen identity and other issues are brought into reconsideration.Secondly,it explores the humanistic value of Migdal's theory,the individual concern in the changing context.However,Migdal's theory also has several controversies.Firstly,social control which is the core elements of the theory need to be discussed,since Migdal fail to distinguish Mann's autocratic power and basic power.Secondly,limitation of methodology: case studies are often faced with limited explanatory,to what extent Migdal's the third world state theory is subject to or beyond that.Third,On the basis of comprehensive analysis,Migdal's vision of the state is strong state.It can be argued that Migdal use the tools of “state in society ” to find a strong state,but the tools are not enough to make the case...