The infrastructural state: Evaluative power, socio-technical architectures, and stratification under digital-ecological conditions

Sociological analyses of the state have traditionally emphasized bureaucratic hierarchy, governmental techniques, and market-oriented managerial reforms. This article argues that contemporary governance increasingly depends on socio-technical infrastructures that embed evaluation within operational systems. Herein, the author proposes the concept of the infrastructural state as a conceptual refinement that captures this development without abandoning classical insights. The concept differs from Mann’s infrastructural power, which is concerned with the state’s ability to reach into society and carry out its decisions. Here, the focus is on how administrative judgment is shaped by the databases, scoring systems, and environmental models through which institutions increasingly work. The argument is illustrated through anticipatory social protection in northern Kenya, where biometric identification is linked with satellite-based drought monitoring. The case is useful because digital administration and ecological measurement come together within the same process. It shows how authority can become partly embedded in system design, calibration, and maintenance while administrative judgment remains important. The article further considers how these arrangements mediate stratification by shaping who becomes legible, eligible, and prioritized within governance systems.