1. Rethinking the state / Joel S. Migdal and Klaus Schlichte -- 2. Whose state is it? Hindu-nationalist violence and populism in India / Julia Eckert -- 3. The 'privatization' of the state : North Africa in comparative perspective / Béatrice Hibou -- 4. The state against itself : market reforms and the judicialization of politics in Mexico / Tom Lewis -- 5. The Phoenix state : war economy and state formation in Liberia / François Prkic -- 6. The rise of the social and the banalization of the state in China / Jean-Louis Rocca -- 7. Uganda : a state in suspense / Klaus Schlichte -- 8. Boundaries of state and military in Pakistan / Boris Wilke