The [Re]Imagined state: The Central African Republic. Navigating liberal and postliberal state theorisation

Abstract The article introduces the Imagined State and applies it to the Central African Republic (CAR), in that conceiving of it in either the Weberian or the non-Weberian image is challenging. It addresses a critical gap in the literature, as the ‘failed state’ and ‘neopatrimonial state’ have been rejected; however, academics fail to offer an alternative. Understanding CAR as an imagined state reveals that interveners (namely, United Nations peacekeepers) set out to reimagine the country through the liberal paradigm, whether they know it or not. This calls on us to engage with the literature on reimagining states, which is dominated by postliberal calls to reject the Weberian image of the state, but problematically this agenda neglects so-called failed states. The second contribution therefore arises as it is the first study to expose the harm of reimagining states. It analyses four interlinking issue areas: i) the desires of the population; ii) the goals problem; iii) the transition problem; and iv) the control problem. These are critical in imagined states, as the hypothetical state may place a huge burden on the shoulders of vulnerable populations who could find themselves victims of overactive imaginations, ungrounded visions of the possible, and unrealistic goals.