Hollow State

cousin/precursor to Failed State?

A hollow state is a state which is generally considered to have the appearance of a properly functioning democratic nation or state. This state or nation has democratic elections, government laws, rules, regulations and standards. It has an agencies, police, taxation, ministries and a military. What it does not have are the aforementioned acting in the best interest of the public but rather supporting the interests of autocracies, dictators, oligopolies, special interest groups and kleptocracies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_state

Hmm, my gloss is a bit different, I see the phrase representing a process where a government starts out providing typical government services, has a pretty normal level of Capture/Corruption... but then when tax revenue drops, it's the public-interest expenditures that get cut, leaving the Corruption as a bigger and bigger portion of what's left.