@article{ref1,
title="State fragmentation: toward a theoretical understanding of the territorial power of the state",
journal="Sociological theory",
year="2002",
author="Li, Jieli",
volume="20",
number="2",
pages="139-156",
abstract="In existing theories of revolution, the state is narrowly defined as an administrative entity, and state breakdown simply refers to the disintegration of a given political regime. But this narrow definition cannot deal with this question: Why, in a revolutionary situation, do some states become fragmented and others remain unified? I would therefore argue for the broadening of the concept of state breakdown to include the territorial power of the state and to treat the latter as a key analytical dimension in the study of state fragmentation. The dynamics of territorial state power involve the control of critical territories and valuable resources associated with the spatial position of a given state in the interstate system. A strong territorial state is able to maintain its organizational coerciveness and territorial integrity, whereas a weak territorial state is vulnerable to fragmentation. The overall state crisis derives from the accumulated effects of geopolitical strain by which territorial fragmentation unfolds.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0735-2751",
doi="10.1111/1467-9558.00156",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9558.00156"
}