What Is Relational State Capacity?

Relational State Capacity: Conceiving of Relationships as a Core Component of Society’s Ability to Achieve Collective Ends: Dan Honig, Mekhala Krishnamurthy, and Rahul Karnamadakala Sharma

Relational state capacity (RSC) integrates the quality of citizen-state relationships into the concept of state capacity, emphasizing mutual recognition between citizens and state agents as foundational for societal problem-solving. Traditional state capacity definitions overemphasize technical and institutional elements, overlooking relational dynamics. RSC is a latent societal resource activated through mutual recognition in citizen-state exchanges with potential to improve outcomes across diverse domains, from public health to social cohesion. We have for too long transactionalized governance; we need instead to collectively invest in intentional structures and practices that foster relationality. Drawing on insights from existing literature, the paper explores how RSC is built, intermediated, and shaped by broader societal norms and organizational dynamics. By making RSC legible as an object of inquiry, the paper lays the groundwork for empirical investigation into RSC’s causal pathways, spillover effects, and resilience to disruption. There are many pathways for theoretical and empirical development in this emergent field; focusing on the relational in understanding state performance has the potential to enhance citizens’ welfare, strengthen democratic resilience, and improve public sector performance.

Supplements

Supplement A: Literature Review

This supplement to the working paper on relational state capacity (Honig, Krishnamurthy, and Sharma 2024) offers a narrative review of state-citizen relationships in the cross-disciplinary literature on public administration. The review provides evidentiary support for RSC’s proposition that relationships are a core component of state capacity and public service outcomes. We systematically record the multiple dimensions (where they happen, for what duration, between whom, etc) of state-agent and citizen exchanges available in the cases, and understand the context and outcomes of these interactions. The empirical cases studied in this literature review reveal that many public service interventions, such as participatory processes or training in empathy for bureaucrats, have implications for the relationship between, and the perceptions held state-agent and citizens about each other. Additionally, we find that there is immense potential to improve welfare outcomes by cultivating relationships through quotidian interactions between frontline workers and citizens; that relationships are relevant features of public services across most domains and sectors; that managerial conditions can improve or diminish the relational capacities and skills of bureaucrats; and that associational life and civic associations are important channels through which citizens develop relationships with state actors . We close the supplement with a set of hypotheses on RSC, and preliminary ideas on operationalizing RSC for observation and further research.

The Supplement and citation can be accessed on the Harvard Dataverse at: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/KKCMJL

Supplement B: RSC in the existing literature on state-society relations

The State Agent-Citizen Interactions Dataset is the product of an analysis of wide-ranging literature on state-society relations. We read the literature inductively to reveal the nature and context of state agent and citizen interactions in the processes of public service design and delivery. Thirty-two cases documenting various types of state agent-citizen interactions are mapped against our framework comprising of ten dimensions that explain the context of and characterize the nature of interaction between two actors. We have restricted the database to studies that provide detailed case information on the context of the study and the program/intervention being studied, and where results include variables we believe are strongly predictive of RSC. Detailed information on the dimensions is available as the Framework on Sheet 1 of the attached data file.

This dataset is an ongoing initiative of the RSC program. Our team will be updating the dataset as we encounter more relevant studies and cases during the course of the RSC program.

The dataset and citation can be accessed on the Harvard Dataverse at: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/KKCMJL

What Is Relational State Capacity?

Relational State Capacity: Conceiving of Relationships as a Core Component of Society’s Ability to Achieve Collective Ends: Dan Honig, Mekhala Krishnamurthy, and Rahul Karnamadakala Sharma

Supplements

Supplement A: Literature Review

Supplement B: RSC in the existing literature on state-society relations

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