Erin Metz McDonnell

Within seemingly weak states, exceptionally effective subunits lie hidden. These high performing niches exhibit organizational characteristics distinct from poor-performing peer organizations, but also distinct from high-functioning organizations in Western countries. This article develops the concept of interstitial bureaucracy to explain how and why unusually
high-performing state organizations in developing countries invert canonical features of Weberian bureaucracy. Interstices are distinct-yet-embedded subsystems characterized by practices inconsistent with those of the dominant institution. This interstitial position poses particular challenges and requires unique solutions. Interstices cluster together scarce proto-bureaucratic resources to cultivate durable distinction from the status quo, while managing disruptions arising from interdependencies with the wider neopatrimonial field. I propose a framework for how bureaucratic interstices respond to those challenges, generalizing from organizational comparisons within the Ghanaian state and abbreviated historical comparison cases from the nineteenth-century United States, early-twentieth-century China, mid-twentieth-century Kenya, and early-twenty-first-century Nigeria.

Existing theory associates ethnolinguistic diversity with a host of negative outcomes. This article analyzes the puzzle of Ghana, the 12th most diverse state globally, yet among the most peaceful, democratic, and developed African states. It argues the position of post-independence political elites within ethno-demographic structures helps explain why some diverse African states pursued broad nation-building public goods, mitigating the political salience of diversity. Diversity encouraged provision of social goods with broad-based support in states with a modest plurality—not large enough to dominate, but without proximately sized ethnic groups— especially for leaders from a minority. Comparative historical analysis of Ghana is expanded with abbreviated case studies on Guinea, Togo, and Kenya.

Based on an original dataset of university students, this article investigates Ghanaian collective memories of past events that are sources of national pride or shame. On average, young elite Ghanaians express more pride than shame in their national history, and they report shame mostly over actions that caused some physical, material, or symbolic harm. Such actions include not only historic

Established consumption theory relies heavily on application of individualistic frames and market models of behavior. A framework built around consumption-oriented groups would facilitate progress toward a more general theory of consumption. This article reintroduces and extends Weber’s “budgetary unit” concept to address this gap, correcting key problems dogging the consumption literature. The budgetary unit concept 1) offers a new framework for theorizing and better accounting for observed consumption patterns, 2) reveals how consumption units have organizational logics, preferences, strengths, and vulnerabilities that are consequentially distinct from market logic of production and profit, and 3) focuses attention on social processes and features enabling theorization of general social patterns of consumption across diverse contexts. This article highlights the explanatory power and broad applicability of Weber’s budgetary unit approach using the conventionally dissimilar cases of Russian organized crime, Catholic nuns, immigrant remittances, and low-income families’ child support.