Introduction -- From James to regulatory pragmatism -- Examining regulatory pragmatism along the India-Nepal border -- Compliance in the absence of significant coercive capacity -- Inconsistent state action, inaccurate legal knowledge & non-compliance -- Accurate legal knowledge under adverse conditions -- Regulatory pragmatism outside of the forest -- Conclusion
Summary
The state is often associated with the use of force. In Capacity beyond Coercion, Susan L. Ostermann explains variation in compliance with conservation, education, and child labor regulations across the open India-Nepal border. In so doing, she demonstrates that coercively weak states can significantly increase compliance by behaving pragmatically and designing legal implementation strategies around known barriers to compliance, such as imperfect legal knowledge. Given that many states have weak enforcement capacity, the findings in this book point a way forward for more effective and responsi
