Abstract
This paper examines the central generalizable factors which influence the flow of power within formal or ‘institutional’ cooptive arrangements. It examines the key resources of four different types of societal group and explores the utility of these resources in the light of an account of basic government needs. In the light of this, it explores a range of group–government dependencies. Its aim is to set out why some groups can get more and others less from formal government cooption, other things being equal. This enables us to isolate factors of central importance to various cooptive arrangements in quite different contexts.
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