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Cole, W.M. (2016). Managing to Mitigate Abuse: Bureaucracy, Democracy, and Human Rights, 1984 to 2010. International Journal of Comparative Sociology. 57 (1–2): 69–97.

Learning Objective: LO 14-4: Describe the major forms of state governance in the modern world.

Summary: Using data for 134 countries for 1984–2010, Cole assess the impact of state weakness on the human rights of citizens across diverse governance systems. Findings suggest that bodily integrity improves when the quality and strength of national and state institutions increase independent of democracy, whereas bureaucracy capacity positively influences civil liberties in conjunction with conditions of executive constraints or competitive elections.

Questions to Consider:

1. According to Cole, what are the differences between organized, disorganized, weak and strong states? What is the capacity of these types of states to provide services, implement policies, or offer protection to its citizens?
2. How does Cole define regime type and state capacity? What are the differences between these concepts in relation to shape a country’s human rights practices?
3. What are some theories about the relationship between democracy and state capacity? Compare and contrast characteristics of strong democracies, weak autocracies, weak democracies, and strong autocracies. How does these models map compare to the major forms of state governance?