1 - Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
THE MODERN STATE
As a century of extraordinary turmoil and change comes to an end, it is sobering to take a long look back over the several centuries that have made up modern times. We live in a world of states. Virtually every landmass of the globe is now the territory of some state. The phenomenon is relatively recent, a feature of modern times, and it was initially European. During the last five hundred years, Charles Tilly writes,
three striking things have occurred. First, almost all of Europe has formed into national states with well-defined boundaries and mutual relations. Second, the European system has spread to virtually the entire world. Third, other states, acting in concert, have exerted a growing influence over the organization and territory of new states. The three changes link closely, since Europe's leading states actively spread the system by colonization, conquest, and penetration of non-European states. The creation first of a League of Nations, then of a United Nations, simply ratified and rationalized the organization of all the earth's people into a single state system.
The modern state, considered as the fundamental form of political organization, has swept the world. It was not always so, and it may not always be so. This transformation of the globe is a remarkable event, especially as it is now rarely noticed and is taken for granted.
The explanation of the development of “the state system” is a matter of considerable interest and importance.
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- An Essay on the Modern State , pp. 1 - 13Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998