Most people measure government effectiveness by policies, infrastructure, and enforcement power. One of the most critical factors for a functioning state, however, is not just resources or efficiency but relationships. That is the argument at the heart of Relational State Capacity: Conceiving of Relationships as a Core Component of Society’s Ability to Achieve Collective Ends, the first working paper published by the SNF Agora Institute.
In their working paper, SNF Agora Faculty Affiliate Dan Honig, along with fellow scholars Mekhala Krishnamurthy, and Rahul Karnamadakala Sharma, challenge traditional ideas of what makes a government strong. For decades, experts have defined state capacity as an institution’s ability to enforce laws, collect taxes, and deliver services. While these logistical and technical abilities matter, the authors argue that they do not tell the full story. Government services are not delivered in a vacuum. They depend on the relationships between citizens and officials.
The authors introduce “relational state capacity” (RSC) to highlight how trust, mutual recognition, and cooperation shape governance. When people see the state as legitimate, fair, and responsive, they engage with it in meaningful ways. This engagement makes public services more effective and policies easier to implement. However, when interactions between citizens and government feel impersonal, coercive, or indifferent, people disengage, resist, or work around state institutions.
The COVID-19 pandemic provides a striking example of why technical capacity alone cannot guarantee success. Before the crisis, organizations ranked the United States and the United Kingdom among the world’s best-prepared nations for pandemic response. These countries had advanced healthcare systems, strong scientific institutions, and detailed pandemic response plans. Yet, when the virus spread, both governments struggled to contain it. Despite having the technical infrastructure to distribute vaccines and coordinate public health measures, they faced widespread public distrust and resistance. The authors argue that this breakdown stemmed from a failure of relational state capacity. Even well-designed interventions can fall apart without strong relationships between citizens and the state.
This issue extends beyond public health. The paper examines how RSC influences public education, social services, and democratic resilience. Everyday interactions with government, whether at the DMV, a public hospital, or a polling place, shape how people perceive state legitimacy. A respectful exchange with a government social worker can strengthen trust in public institutions. A frustrating experience with rigid bureaucracy can erode it.
The authors also caution against the shift toward making government interactions purely transactional. Increasingly, governments replace human discretion with automated systems or strict, rule-based procedures. While automation can improve efficiency and reduce bias, it can also remove the human element that fosters trust and cooperation. When people feel like they are dealing with a faceless system rather than individuals who understand their needs, they lose confidence in the government’s ability to serve them. So too government agents must see their role as more than enforcing rules or delivering services, but rather building relationships with citizens.
As trust in government reaches historic lows in the United States, this research feels more urgent than ever. Political polarization, misinformation, and growing skepticism toward institutions have weakened the relationship between citizens and the state. Co-author Dan Honig explains,
“If we want democracy to work, we need more than good policies. We need good relationships. A government that does not have the trust of its people is like a car with no fuel. Right now, in the United States, that tank is running low. If we do not rebuild the relationships between citizens and the state, our democracy is at risk of breaking down.”
By focusing on relational state capacity, the authors hope to encourage further research on how governments can foster trust and legitimacy. In an era of deep political division, the paper reminds us that strong relationships between citizens and the state are not just a side benefit of good governance; they are at the core of what makes a society work.
Read the full paper here.