The difficulties of studying state building. -- The social foundations of state building in the contemporary era. -- State formation in Chile and Peru: institution building and atrophy in unlikely settings. -- State formation in Argentina and Yruguay: agrarian capitalism, elite conflict, and the construction of cooperation. -- Divergence reinforced: the timing of political inclusion and state strength in Chile and Peru. -- The social question and the state: mass mobilization, suffrage, and institutional development in Argentina and Uruguay. -- Conclusions, implications, and extensions: social foundations, Germany-Prussia, and the limits of contemporary state building.

1. Latin America -- Social conditions
2. Nation -- Building -- Latin America -- History
3. Latin America -- Politics and government