Government and Welfare States in the Global South

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter examines the role of government in welfare state development, emphasizing the importance of successful state formation and state capacity building for constructing effective welfare systems. It argues that well-functioning bureaucracies are the basis for the state’s capacity to provide social protection and social services, whereas patrimonialism prevents this capacity from growing. State capacity itself and the uses that are made of it are shaped by the distribution of power between contending social groups. Theoretically, political settlement analysis, an adaptation of power resources theory for the Global South, offers a robust explanatory framework.</jats:p>