Does American influence help or hinder the capacity-building of partner states? In Hierarchy and the State, Patrick Shea challenges the conventional wisdom that US influence undermines state-building in developing countries, instead arguing that US support has actually enhanced state capacity over the past 40 years. The book asserts that American economic power plays a pivotal role in enhancing a state's ability to build and sustain itself. Tracing the evolution of US property rights promotion from 1782 to the present, it reveals the complex interplay of economic and security interests that shape American foreign policy. Through cutting-edge quantitative techniques and original data on US hierarchy, Hierarchy and the State provides robust evidence for the mechanisms linking international influence, property rights, and state-building outcomes. Its novel framework will change the way scholars examine the international politics of state-building.

‘In 2001's ‘The Mystery of Capital', economist Hernando de Soto brought property rights to the foreground as a prescription for poverty alleviation. Twenty-three years later, Patrick Shea takes the concept further by weaving an elegant theoretical connection between US foreign influence, codified property rights, and successful state-building through increased state capacity. A must-read for both practitioners and foreign policy scholars.'

Carla Martinez Machain - University at Buffalo, SUNY