Introduction to Political Theory

Chapter 1

The state

Introduction

If you asked the average person to identify the state, they may look at you in

astonishment, and say that they were not aware of living under a state, unless

by that you meant the ‘government’. Indeed, some writers have spoken of

Britain and the USA as stateless societies, although this is to confuse what

people think about the state, and what the state really is. In tackling this

question, we shall also try to deal with the problem: does the state really exist?

Chapter map

In this chapter we will explore:

• The history of the concept of the state
  so as to decide whether the state is
  purely modern.


• Various definitions of the state, and
  our own definition.
  
  
  • The link between the state and
    conventional notions of sovereignty.
  
  
  • The argument that holds that it is
    possible to look beyond the state,
    provided certain conceptual
    distinctions are put in place.