States against Nations: Meritocracy, Patronage, and the Challenges of Bureaucratic Selection

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Nicholas Kuipers (Princeton University, New Jersey)

States against Nations

Meritocracy, Patronage, and the Challenges of Bureaucratic Selection

Nicholas Kuipers (Princeton University, New Jersey)

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English

Cambridge University Press
07 August 2025

Sociology & anthropology; Comparative politics

Series: Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics

In States Against Nations, Nicholas Kuipers questions the virtues of meritocratic recruitment as the ideal method of bureaucratic selection. Kuipers argues that while civil service reform is often seen as an admirable act of state-building, it can actually undermine nation-building. Throughout the book, he shows that in countries with high levels of group-based inequality, privileged groups tend to outperform marginalized groups on entrance exams, leading to disproportionate representation in government positions. This dynamic exacerbates intergroup tensions and undermines efforts towards nation-building. Drawing on large-scale surveys, experiments, and archival documents, States Against Nations provides a thought-provoking perspective on the challenges of bureaucratic recruitment and unearths an overlooked tension between state- and nation-building.

By: Nicholas Kuipers (Princeton University New Jersey)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781009589239
ISBN 10: 1009589237
Series: Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
Pages: 250
Publication Date: 07 August 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Nicholas Kuipers is an Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University. His research is chiefly focused on documenting challenges of representation in bureaucratic and political institutions, especially in Southeast Asia. His research has appeared in American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, and World Politics, among other outlets.