If economic elites are notorious for circumventing tax obligations, how can institutionally weak governments get the wealthy to shoulder a greater tax burden? This book studies the factors behind the adoption of elite taxes for public safety purposes. Contrary to prominent explanations in the literature on the fiscal strengthening of the state – including the role of resource dependence and inequality – the book advances a theory of elite taxation that focuses on public safety crises as windows of opportunity and highlights the importance of business-government linkages to overcome mistrust toward government from corruption and lack of accountability. Based on evidence from across Latin America and rich case studies from experiences in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico, the book provides scholars and policymakers with a blueprint for contemporary state-building efforts in the developing world.

‘In Contemporary State Building Gustavo Flores-Macías takes on two issues generally treated separately: responses to insecurity and the politics of taxation. In a masterful work Flores-Macías uses precisely this juxtaposition to show how even weak states can sometimes effectively tax elites to provide public goods.’

Marcus Kurtz - The Ohio State University, author of Free Market Democracy and the Chilean and Mexican Countryside and Latin American State Building in Comparative Perspective: Social Foundations of Institutional Order

‘Flores-Macías has once again made an important contribution to our understanding of elites and the state in Latin America. Policymakers, political theorists, students, elites, and activists would be wise to consider the lessons of this work in devising their strategies for building viable states, addressing crises of development, and pursuing justice.’

Aaron Schneider - University of Denver, author of State-Building and Tax Regimes in Central America

‘Right-wing governments are usually disinclined to tax the wealthy, and cozy relations between government and business typically produce states that are more captured than capable. Yet under conditions of extreme security threat, Gustavo Flores-Macías convincingly argues, Latin America has sometimes experienced bouts of state-building through heightened elite taxation under conservative, pro-business rule. A nicely nuanced contribution to our understanding of the complicated political pathways through which internal violence shapes the origins of state power.’

Dan Slater - University of Michigan, author of Ordering Power

‘… this book offers something to both researchers and instructors. From a scholarly perspective, it makes a compelling case that is deeply rooted in political economic models of policy making.’

James E. Mahon Jr Source: Perspectives on Politics