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CHAPTER TWO: THE STATE

2.1 The emergence of the modern state in Europe from the medieval governance provided by the Church, monarchy and the nobility. The stimulus provided by military innovation and the Reformation to this process. The idea of sovereignty, and its taming through contract and consent, as the theoretical counterpart to these developments (pp. 23-6).

2.2 The expansion of the Western state in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (until about 1975): centralization, standardization, monopoly of force, mobilization of society, differentiation of state from society, expansion of public functions and growth in the state’s budget and employment (pp. 26-9).

2.3 The restructuring of the Western state (1975-2000), following the oil crises of the 1970s and their threat to ever growing public expenditure. The stimulus provided by conservative leaders (Reagan and Thatcher). But contraction less marked beyond the English-speaking countries (pp. 26-9).

2.4 Most states are post-colonial. The four waves of decolonization: in Latin America in the nineteenth century; in Europe and the Middle East after the first war; in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean after the second world war; in the former Soviet Union after the collapse of communism. The characteristic post-colonial pattern: soft but authoritarian states with limited penetration through society (pp. 29-32).

2.5 Collapsed states where state authority has crumbled and been supplanted by private and subnational bodies. The difficulty and complexity of rebuilding states. African examples and the question of whether the state form is appropriate in the setting of sub-Saharan Africa (pp. 32-6).

2.6 The growth of international organizations. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Regional organizations and the example of the EU. Their impact on national government institutions. Winners from globalization: the bureaucracy, the executive, protective interest groups and perhaps the judiciary. Assemblies and parties as losers (pp. 36-42).