SOC100BThe Development of the Modern State (Ch.2 Modernity)States- historical phenomena, constructed under particular conditions, and far from fixed or “natural” entities“Stateless” should not be taken to mean the absence of any mechanisms of regulation of govt. through which decisions affecting the community can be made and disputes settled (ie. hunting and gathering)-- stateless doesn’t equal lawless“Europe” was the creation of many complex processes at the intersection of “internal” and “external” forces and relations. “Nothing like a centralized national state existed anywhere in Europe” - Charles TillyEuropean map of late fifteenth century included some 500 more or less independent political units with often ill-defined boundaries. By 1900 the number went down to twenty-five.5 main clusters of state systems:1. traditional tribute-taking empires2. systems of divided authority (feudal relations, city-state alliances)3. polity of estates4. absolutist states5. modern nation-states: constitutional, liberal democratic, or single party polities locked progressively into a system of nation-statesEmpires were ruled but not governed. Emperors dominated social and geographical space but lacked the administrative means to provide regular administration of its territories. They were kept together by force, with often in flux boundaries. The main source of economic resources came from tributes (taxes). They typically ruled over a wide range of communities.Feudalism- political system of overlapping and divided authority distinguished in generalby a network of interlocking ties and obligations. Rife tensions and frequent war in this system.It was not until western Christendom was challenged, that the idea of the modern state was born, and the ground was created for the development of a new form of political identity- national identity.(Three) estates- the nobility, clergy, and leading townsmen or burghers“Power dualism”: power split between rulers and estatesAbsolutism-- strengthened ability to rule over a unified territorial area; rule by a sovereign head; small number of states engaged in an “open-ended, competitive, and risk-laden power struggle”The absolutist monarch claimed to be the ultimate source of human law. [Divine right]Six ensuing developments were of great significance in the history of the states system:1. the growing coincidence of territorial boundaries with a uniform system of rule2. the creation of new mechanisms of lawmaking and enforcement3. the centralization of administrative power4. the alteration and extension of fiscal management5. the formalization of relations among states through the development of diplomacy and diplomatic institutions6. the introduction of a standing armyAbsolutism helped set process of state-making which began to reduce the social, economic, and cultural variation within states and expand the variation among them; more fixed bordersGreater reciprocity was created between the governors and the governedDespotism- strong regime’s power to effect its will over civil societyState sovereignty- process of mutual recognition whereby states granted each other rights of jurisdiction in their respective territories and communities“Westphalian model”, the period of international law from 1648 to 1945 summarized by these seven points:1. the world consists of sovereign states which recognize no superior authority2. processes of lawmaking, settlement of disputes, and law-enforcement are largelyin the hands of individual states subject to the logic of power struggle3. differences among states are often settled by force4. responsibility for cross-border wrongful acts are a private matter concerning only those affected; no international collective interest5. all states are regarded as equal before the law: legal rules do not take account ofasymmetries of power6. international law is oriented to the establishment of minimal rules of coexistence7. the minimization of impediments on state freedom is the “collective” priorityCrucial innovations of the modern states system:1. Territoriality- fixed borders2. Control of the means of violence- force and coercion to pacify people3. Impersonal structure of power- separation from property, religion, tradition4. Legitimacy- individuals and people became active citizens of a new order- not just subjects of the monarchAbsolutist states had less power over civil society that it claims and modern states are rarely bounded by their constitutions and borders. Forms of the modern state:1. Constitutional state- implicit and/or explicit limits on political or state decision-making specifying how decisions and changes can be made (proceduralism), orblocking certain kinds of changes altogether (substantivism). States must be restricted in order to ensure maximum freedom of every citizen.2. Liberal state- defined in large part by the attempt to create a private sphere independent of the state; building blocks are constitutionalism, private property, acompetitive market economy, and the distinctively patriarchal family3. Liberal/representative democracy- system of rule embracing elected officers who undertake to represent the interests or views of citizens within the framework of the rule of law4. One-party/single-party polity- a single party can be the legitimate expression of the overall will of the communityEuropean states’ capacity for overseas operations by means of naval and military force capable of long-range navigation led governments to “discover”, exploit, and claim non-European lands. States with an administrative infrastructure, substantial manpower, andwide tax base and arms and shipbuilding industries benefitted the most.Modern world system divided into three components: The core (north-west and central Europe), the semi-periphery (Mediterranean), and the periphery (colonized and captured territories). Each component characterized by its particular type of economic activity, state structure, class formation, and mechanism of labor control.Objective of war became more economic than militaristic New capitalist classes sought to ensure the progressive separation of the economy fromthe state so that the economy was free from any risk of arbitrary political inferenceStates gained legitimacy because they came to depend more and more on the active cooperation, collaboration, and support of their peoples, especially well-organized civil groupsThe modern states form most