The Modern StateThe modern state is hugely important in our everyday lives. It takes nearly half our income in taxes. It registers our births, marriages and deaths. It educates our children and pays our pensions. It has a unique power to compel, in some cases exercising the ultimate sanction of preserving life or ordering death. Yet most of us would struggle to say exactly what the state is. The Modern State offers a clear, comprehensive and provoking introduction to one of the most important phenomena of contemporary life. Topics covered include: * the nation state and its historical context * state and economy * state and societies * state and citizens * international relations * the future of the state |
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absolutist activity actors apparatus argued authority British bureaucracy capital capitalist cent certainly changes Chapter characteristic circumstances citizens citizenship civil society claims constitutional context corporatism critics decisionmaking defined democracy democratic domestic duties economic effective élite employment established European Union example exercise feminist feudalism force forms Giddens global growth Hayek historical Hobbes identified important income increasingly individual insisted institutions interests international order international political international political economy international relations jurisdiction Keohane Keynesian Kymlicka labour least legitimacy legitimate less liberal liberal democracies Mann market economy Marx Marx’s Marxist military modern nationstate neoliberals organizations ownership particular period pluralists political community postmodernist postwar provision quangos realist regime relationship representative democratic rule sector seen sense social sovereign sovereignty sphere state’s status structure taxation territory Thucydides Tilly traditional transnational twentieth century unitary violence Weber welfare