statebecoming

Statebecoming is a term used in political science and related fields to describe the ongoing, dynamic process through which a political entity evolves toward or away from characteristics associated with a sovereign state. Rather than treating the state as a fixed structure with a defined set of attributes, statebecoming emphasizes change over time in institutions, authority, capacity, legitimacy, and territorial boundaries as they are negotiated among government agencies, nonstate actors, and external forces.

The concept draws on process-oriented and constructivist approaches to state theory and intersects with debates on state-building, state formation, governance, and sovereignty. It foregrounds temporality, contingency, and the role of technologies, policies, and practices that reconfigure what counts as statehood in different historical and regional contexts.

Applications include studies of post-conflict reconstruction, reform programs in developing states, and emergent states where new authorities contest or redefine state capacity. It can also apply to digital governance projects, border controls, and transnational regulatory regimes that alter state functions.

Critiques note that the term can be vague or teleological if used to imply an inevitable move toward legitimacy or capability, and they stress careful operationalization and attention to power dynamics, including non-state actors and informal practices.

See also: state-building, state formation, governance, sovereignty, legitimacy, capacity.