State And Society In The Dominican Republic

This book analyzes the formation of the Dominican state and explores the development of state-society relations since the late nineteenth century. Betances argues that initial state expansion occurred between 1886 and 1924, as governments opened the economy to foreign capital, entered the international credit system, and extended the role of the military. During this period, however, the social and economic base of national elites was not strengthened, creating an imbalance in state-society relations that provided the structural framework for the emergence of the Trujillo dictatorship. The author also explores the impact of foreign intervention and socio-economic change on the process of state and class formation since 1961.