The Rise and Decline of the State

This unique volume traces the history of the state from its beginnings to the present day.

Martin van Creveld (Author)

9780521651905, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 August 1999

448 pages
23.7 x 15.9 x 3.2 cm, 0.82 kg

' … a very readable account, [van Creveld] paints a most persuasive picture of the decline of the state and the transfer of its powers to a host of substitute guardians. It is an intellectually exciting and highly recommended book.' Law Society Journal

The state, which since the middle of the seventeenth century has been the most important and most characteristic of all modern institutions, is in decline. From Western Europe to Africa, many existing states are either combining into larger communities or falling apart. Many of their functions are being taken over by a variety of organizations which, whatever their precise nature, are not states. In this unique volume Martin van Creveld traces the story of the state from its beginnings to the present. Starting with the simplest political organizations that ever existed, he guides the reader through the origins of the state, its development, its apotheosis during the two World Wars, and its spread from its original home in Western Europe to cover the globe. In doing so, he provides a fascinating history of government from its origins to the present day.

Introduction
Part I. Before the State: Prehistory to 1300 AD: 1. Tribes without rulers
2. Tribes with rulers (chiefdoms)
3. City states
4. Empires, strong and weak
5. Limits of stateless societies
Part II. The Rise of the State: 1300–1648: 6. The struggle against the church
7. The struggle against the empire
8. The struggle against the nobility
9. The struggle against the towns
10. The monarch's triumph
Part III. The State as an Instrument: 1648–1789: 11. Building the bureaucracy
12. Creating the infrastructure
13. Monopolizing violence
14. The growth of political theory
15. Inside the Leviathan
Part IV. The State as an Ideal: 1789–1945: 16. The great transformation
17. Disciplining the people
18. Conquering the money
19. The road to total war
20. The apotheosis of war
Part V. The Spread of the State: 1696–1975: 21. Into Eastern Europe
22. The Anglo-Saxon Experience
23. The Latin American experiment
24. Frustration in Asia and Africa
25. What everybody has …
Part VI. The Decline of the State: 1975–: 26. The waning of major war
27. The retreat of welfare
28. Technology goes international
29. The threat to international order
30. The withdrawal of faith
Conclusion: beyond the state.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]