State

The three sections of this entry examine the very complex and controversial political phenomenon commonly referred to as the state. The first section presents a conceptual statement that takes as its point of departure the ideal-typical treatment of the state presented at the beginning of the 20th century by the German scholar Max Weber (1864–1920). This choice reflects the significant influence that treatment exercised, over the remainder of that century, within the disciplines of law, political science, and sociology. (Note that Weber's arguments, while markedly original in parts, echoed and elaborated theoretical views widely shared within the juridical and social science literature of his time, both in Germany itself and elsewhere. However, neither at the time nor later were they universally accepted as valid.). Included here are comments that support, qualify, and modify Weber's own treatment. The next section of the entry summarizes the major historical developments that in the course of Western modernization imparted to the political institutions of certain European countries the distinctive features emphasized in Weber's state concept. They turned the state itself into the model arrangement for the generation and management of large-scale political power, first in other European countries and then in other parts of the world. The third section of the entry considers very briefly the major events that, since Weber wrote, have markedly affected the institutional physiognomy of the state itself and its position within the larger society and highlights some aspects of the contemporary discussion about “the state of the state.”