State capacity is the ability of a government to accomplish policy goals, either generally or in reference to specific aims.
[7][8] Higher state capacity has been strongly linked to long-term economic development, as state capacity can establish law and order, private property rights, and external defense, as well as support development by establishing a competitive market, transportation infrastructure, and mass education.
[10][11] In studies that use state capacity as a causal variable, it has frequently been measured as the ability to tax, provide public goods, enforce property rights, achieve economic growth or hold a monopoly on the use of force within a territory.
States with strong social control can enforce their own policies and deter membership in alternate rebel organizations.
This type of scenario may reduce central social control, presenting an elevated risk of civil conflict and armed violence in Africa.