Claiming the State

Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner is Assistant Professor of Politics and Global Studies at the University of Virginia. She was previously an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Boston College. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and a Masters in International Development and Regional Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania. Her research examines citizen-state relations, local governance, and social welfare provision, and has appeared in World Politics and World Development. Claiming the State is her first book.

'Studies in political science are often written as if citizens interact with the state only during elections. Yet, as Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner shows in her remarkable book, many of the most important interactions that people in rural Rajasthan have with state actors - about access to water, electricity, healthcare, food, shelter, and other forms of social protection - are almost daily activities. This makes it crucial to understand the conditions under which citizens do (or don't) make claims for these services. Claiming the State provides compelling answers, and in so doing, provides new and important insights into how citizens in poor countries interact with their governments.' Daniel N. Posner, James Coleman Professor of International Development, University of California, Los Angeles

• Part I. Introduction and Theory: 1. Introduction: citizenship and social welfare; 2. A theory of active citizenship; Part II. Citizenship Practice In Rajasthan: 3. The institutional terrain of the state; 4. Seeking the state: claim-making patterns and puzzles; 5. Encountering the state: citizens' social and spatial exposure; 6. Claiming the state: exposure as a catalyst for citizen action; Part III. Consequences and Extensions: 7. The consequences of claim-making; 8. Conclusion: active citizenship in Rajasthan and beyond; Appendices; References; Index.