The Rise and Decline of the State

by Martin van Creveld

• ISBN13: 9780521656290
• ISBN10: 052165629X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Martin van Creveld is a Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. His books include Supplying War (1978), Fighting Power (1982), Command in War (1985), Technology and War (1988) and The Transformation of War (1991).

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Before the state: prehistory to AD 1300	1	(58)
Tribes without rulers	2	(8)
Tribes with rulers (chiefdoms)	10	(10)
City-states	20	(15)
Empires, strong and weak	35	(17)
Limits of stateless societies	52	(7)
The rise of the state: 1300 to 1648	59	(67)
The struggle against the church	62	(13)
The struggle against the Empire	75	(12)
The struggle against the nobility	87	(17)
The struggle against the towns	104	(14)
The monarchs' triumph	118	(8)
The state as an instrument: 1648 to 1789	126	(63)
Building the bureaucracy	128	(15)
Creating the infrastructure	143	(12)
Monopolizing violence	155	(15)
The growth of political theory	170	(14)
Inside the Leviathan	184	(5)
The state as an ideal: 1789 to 1945	189	(74)
The Great Transformation	191	(14)
Disciplining the people	205	(19)
Conquering money	224	(18)
The road to total war	242	(16)
The apotheosis of the state	258	(5)
The spread of the state: 1696 to 1975	263	(73)
Toward Eastern Europe	264	(17)
The Anglo-Saxon experience	281	(17)
The Latin American experiment	298	(17)
Frustration in Asia and Africa	315	(17)
What everybody has ...	332	(4)
The decline of the state: 1975-	336	(79)
The waning of major war	337	(17)
The retreat of welfare	354	(23)
Technology goes international	377	(17)
The threat to internal order	394	(14)
The withdrawal of faith	408	(7)
Conclusions: beyond the state	415	(7)
Index	422