States against Nations : Meritocracy, Patronage, and the Challenges of Bureaucratic Selection

Focusing on the challenges of bureaucratic recruitment, this book questions the virtues of meritocracies and develops a new theory about the conflicts facing governments that engage in both state- and nation-building. It is ideal for scholars in political science, history, sociology, public administration, public policy, law, and economics.

In States Against Nations, Nicholas Kuipers questions the virtues of meritocratic recruitment as the ideal method of bureaucratic selection. Kuipers argues that while civil service reform is often seen as an admirable act of state-building, it can actually undermine nation-building. Throughout the book, he shows that in countries with high levels of group-based inequality, privileged groups tend to outperform marginalized groups on entrance exams, leading to disproportionate representation in government positions. This dynamic exacerbates intergroup tensions and undermines efforts towards nation-building. Drawing on large-scale surveys, experiments, and archival documents, States Against Nations provides a thought-provoking perspective on the challenges of bureaucratic recruitment and unearths an overlooked tension between state- and nation-building.