Summary
Highlights
Both non-European and European pre-modern states developed structures and institutions that were precursors to the modern state, exhibiting early traces of territoriality, sovereignty, and the demand for stability. Common features across both included an emphasis on monarchy, religion, and internal power struggles.
This lecture aims to understand the modern state by examining its historical development through time, specifically focusing on the pre-modern phase of state development.
The modern state is characterized by features such as a monopoly on violence, territoriality, sovereignty, constitutionality, impersonal power, public bureaucracy, government by consent, citizenship, and the power of taxation.
Non-European pre-modern states (e.g., ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Inca civilization) were generally highly centralized, had a form of bureaucracy, were often ruled by divine authority and monarchy. These states eventually collapsed due to internal disintegration, wars, and colonial plunder.
In Europe, the pre-modern state had three major forms. The first was traditional kingdoms (e.g., ancient Greece, Roman Empire), which ruled but did not govern effectively due to a lack of proper administrative structures and institutions.
Feudalism, lasting about a thousand years, was marked by dual authority (King vs. Church), a hierarchical structure where kings secured loyalty from vassals in exchange for land and people, and the King's authority was often unstable and challenged by nobles and the Church.
Towards the end of feudalism (14th century), a new form emerged called 'Estates Polity' (Ständestaat). A new commercial class in towns and cities demanded larger territories for trade and a stable, strong, centralized authority to overcome the divided loyalties and instability of feudalism, though it still lacked a full vision of the modern state.