State Building Forces and State Formation Agents: A Rejoinder to Ana Vedovato’s Review of the End of Consensus: New Debates on State Capacity in Latin America | Synapse
June 28, 2026
State Building Forces and State Formation Agents: A Rejoinder to Ana Vedovato’s Review of the End of Consensus: New Debates on State Capacity in Latin America
Key Points
This work addresses misconceptions about disagreements between state formation theories.
Analyzed previously published theories on state building and capacity.
Critically reviewed Ana Vedovato’s evaluation of existing literature on state formation.
Engaged in theoretical discourse to reconcile differing views.
Clarified that Schenoni’s and Mazzuca’s works complement rather than contradict each other.
Highlighted the role of civil war in shaping state capacity and governance in Latin America.
Abstract
The notion that Luis Schenoni’s Bringing War Back In (BWBI; Schenoni, 2024) and my Latecomer State Formation (LSF; Mazzuca, 2021) are locked in fundamental disagreement is based on a misunderstandi...