The shape of countries to economic development

The investigation on the causes and consequences of the politics of moving borders leads to the idea of right-sizing the state developed from the theory of state expansion and contraction as a process of institutionalization of territory and borders, communities and further classification of modes of regulating ethnic conflict. Researches refer to historical cases, in large part aiming to explain the changing territoriality of states and tend to bring in new concepts of fragmentation, democracy, and identities and their interactions with concerns over population and environment.

The evidence collected by the author of ‘Beliefs in government’ project indicates that a new transnational public awareness may be emerging so that public policy issues (for example, environmental protection) can no longer be adequately addressed at the national level - under strain, first, from an increasing complexity of political issues and interactions, and second, from a growing individualism and self-centredness on the part of a public opinion that is increasingly well-informed and politically active.

The idea of democracy beyond borders criticizes conventional theories of democracy that focus almost exclusively on states within bounded borders and its electoral ballots. Kuper shows how non-state actors, such as corporations and civil society advocates, can be brought into multi-level government as partners with states. He presents an original theory of representation to answer the problem of accountability. At the core of this vision is a new separation of powers, in which different global actors check and balance one another in a complex harmony.

We can never know what the best system of rules and institutions might be. We have to discover it. So competition between different systems is to be welcomed. It will be interesting to see, for example, how the structured market of China compares against the democratic market of India or the politicized economy of Russia. We can however have some inkling of what the best institutional arrangements for a country might be by looking at how civil society organizes itself.

Leading scholars of multicultural issues examine questions related to multiculturalism and citizenship, specifically addressing the issue of whether it is possible in multicultural societies to accommodate these forms of diversity without weakening the bonds of common citizenship.

By asking about how and under what circumstances central states might change their shape in response to ethnic upheavals and regionalists demands options for aligning identities, states and governance while preventing state collapse or violent conflict, have been expanding. Different strategies of eliminating and managing ethnic differences and existing borders are suggested.

Remarks on countries’ borders and population size in relation to economic growth are also raising questions on shape of borders. I will take it as read that population matters, because of its associated effects on power, poverty, environment and security arising from global and regional, and particularly differential, population growth and composition.

Studies point out to unnatural borders that created ethnically fragmented countries or, conversely, separated into bordering countries the same people, are at the roots of Africa’s economic tragedy. In other parts of the globe failed states, conflict and economic misery are referred to around borders that are not compatible with natural division of peoples. As George Bernard Shaw eloquently put it "A healthy nation is as unconscious of its nationality as a healthy man is unconscious of his health. But if you break a nation’s nationality it will think of nothing else but getting it set again."

The GIS (Geographic Information Systems) format data set World Vector Shoreline provides the largest scale digital data set of political boundaries available today. One measure captures adjustments of borders that do not reflect an appropriate division of people on the ground when ethnic group is cut by a political border line leading to excess ethnic fractionalization. Another measure examines situations in which two ethnic groups are forced into the same country. This is a first step for examining whether these are correlated with something important to understand politico economic success and to explore various standard measures of economic development, such as per capita GDP, or institutional improvement. While many examples of problematic borders lead to disputes, political instability and economic failures, however, examining measures of unnatural borders did not find evidence of correlations between the number and intensity for wars fought by one country. The lack of an immediate and strong evidence of a correlation between borders and wars was surprising. But clearly it can not be concluded that ethnic rivalries and border disputes are unrelated to wars. Further research need to look at bilateral data on wars, namely which country engaged in war with whom. Also another important measure is migration and its politico/economic impacts.

To examine economic development of countries, state performance on health, education and infrastructure are measured which can be divided into economic variables, institutional variables and quality of life/public goods variables. Another important exogenous factor that can explain economic and political success is geography and climate. Two other important characteristics of countries that might be related to the nature of the borders are population density and the land area of the country. To verify whether new measures of unnatural states are correlated with economic and institutional success per capita income and economic freedom were further measured; for politico-institutional variables, it was voice and accountability (which measure checks on power), political stability and violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption. For quality of life and public goods delivery-related measures, variables relating to infant mortality, literacy rate average; measles immunization rate, immunization rate, percent of population with access to clean water were brought into account. The investigation on whether these variables are correlated with the politico-economic success of various countries was found that indeed they are.

The distinctiveness of modern state borders, the centrality of nationality and ethnicity that makes public officials concerned with ‘right-peopling’ their states, and territorial expansion, maintenance and contraction, which oblige public officials to consider ‘right-sizing are under study. The conflicts arising between states and rival communal groups are affected by the systemic processes of state failure and dramatic changes in regional and international dynamics. The study of changes in political regimes highlighted the role of public sphere changes and the political identity, the entrepreneur’s role played in the process, and the reflexive institutional relationship of the disengagement on state institutions, political parties, the press, and professional organizations were found.

It is suggested that consociation patterns of authority among elites, the restricted state authority, and the internal boundaries for rival communal groups open up a possibility of maintaining state borders intact with high levels of democratic stability. The focuses of study was on three bi-ethnic states: Lebanon from 1943 to 1985, Cyprus from 1960 to 1974, and Belgium from 1963 to 1993. Theoretically, it brings together discussion of public policy towards ethnic groups —particularly accommodation and consociation—and the role of ethnic geographies that highlight special factors of state integrity and cohesion. Expanding options for aligning collective identities and states without encouraging premature deconstruction of state boundaries are suggested. Instead of violent destabilization of borders, encouragement is for the use of the theory of boundary institutionalization for preventing violent conflict or forcible collapse of a state territory.





David Coleman (Professor of Demography), OXPOP, The British Population: patterns, trends and processes (with J. Salt, 1992). Oxford University Press

O'Leary, Brendan, Lustick, Ian S., Callaghy, Thomas, (2001) Right-sizing the State – the Politics of Moving Borders, Oxford University Press


By Dr Eamonn Butler in: Gov't Administration, Adam Smith Institute,
www.adamsmith.org