1. The Modern State
Chapter 3

2. This Week The Modern State State Capacity The Emergence of States
The Bureaucracy
The Emergence of States
Failed States
The Welfare State

3. Central Concepts: The State
Max Weber:
“The state is the central political institution that exerts a ‘monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.’”
A few important points:
Legitimacy
State here refers to what we might commonly refer to as government – the decision making apparatus, bureaucracy and the provision of public goods

4. The Modern State What did the non-modern state look like
Feudalism in Europe
Multiple actors with legitimate power
Law and taxes local
Any other system unfeasible
The modern state?
Today, who legally uses power and violence?
Who has the right to tax?

5. Capacity Definition: How does a state increase its capacity?
“The ability of the state to achieve its objectives, especially the abilities to control violence, effectively tax the population, and maintain well-functioning institutions and the rule of law.”
How does a state increase its capacity?
Monopoly on the use of force
Effective (reasonably speaking) bureaucracy
Rule of law
Of note, capacity is a relative concept

6. Failed States A state that fails to perform as expected Leads to:
Multiple purveyors of power and violence
Ineffective bureaucracy
Inequality of power or resources
Leads to:
Mistrust with government and between individuals
Less economic development
Fewer services
How does one avoid failed states?
State-building or nation-building projects

7. Failed State Index (Foreign Policy Magazine)

8. The Relationship Between State and Society
The state is a part of society, but a relatively autonomous part
At its core, the state acts like a general director, making policies and passing laws that are designed to achieve the goals it wants
At the same time, it isn’t apart from society, as groups and institutions within society can seek to change the state
Democracy

9. Bureaucracy: The Core of the Modern State
Bureaucracies are often viewed with suspicion
They’re too big
It’s hard to fire members of the bureaucracy
They’re inefficient
They aren’t innovative
Effective bureaucracy, though, is necessary for the success of a state
Bureaucracies are, in fact, designed to be a very “efficient way to organize collective action in pursuit of common projects”

10. Impersonality and Sovereignty in the Modern State
Leadership is not dependent on charisma, rather on presenting different policy options (more often than not, anyway)
The state, broadly speaking, doesn’t care who you are – everyone is treated equally before the law and by government
Sovereignty:
Recognition as being the single legitimate power within a territory
The source of legitimate authority (…that is to say, it is way governments can actually take action, like tax collection)

11. What do States Do With Their Sovereignty?
Public Policies: Often defined as “what government does”
Designed to improve the public good, either through the provision of resources, protection, or the collection of taxes to accomplish these goals
Typical Functions of the Modern State:
Tax collection
Military and Defence
Public Safety and Policing
Broad economic policy: economic management, fiscal and monetary policy
A social safety net
Infrastructure and public goods

12. Theory: Why Did States Emerge – War?
The Bellicist Theory: Lots of war leads to strong states
States have 3 functions
Centralized administration
Significant tax collection
Ability to mobilize an entire population
Consistent and total war, forces leaders to pursue each of these goals

13. Bellicist Theory Cont…
Explains why Europe which was, otherwise backwards to other civilizations around the globe, were the first to see emergence of strong states
Large, regionally dominant empires were able to create central bureaucracies, but never forced to extensively tax or mobilize the whole of their people
Relation to weak states in South America and Africa

14. Theory: Why did States Emerge – Economics?
Marxist Theory
Interest of the bourgeoisie
Regime or Coalition Theory
Coalitions, generally of societal elites, were formed
The goal of these was to achieve a common end
Government was an opportunity to that end

15. Theory: Why did States Emerge – Culture?
Nationalism
A unifying factor that makes people more amenable to state-building exercises?
Religion
Theory primarily focused on Calvinism

16. Why Did the Structure of the Modern State Emerge All Over the World?
Competition?
Are strong states more effective in war?
Colonialism
Economic competition and preference
Economics?
The international capital class
Neo-colonialism
World Society Theory
Interaction between states demonstrates the effectiveness of the organization and is, in turn, copied

17. The Welfare State First, what are we talking about:
The provision of a safety net to those most in need or at risk in society, often provided in the form of health care and poverty relief
These are big programs, that require lots of money and organization to provide
Cultural theory:
Norms and values changed
Problems can be solved through collective action
Citizenship
Citizens are deserving of some dignity

18. The Welfare State: Industrial Theory
The rise of industrial capitalism
Economic benefits
Social costs?
Role of the state in the economy?
Marxist interpretation
Welfare state is designed to make the worst off feel as though they are getting more
Doomed to fail…eventually
OR...is it the state creeping towards left-wing socialism?
Or…is it simply a response to the incredible societal changes that happen during and after industrialization?

19. The Three World’s of Welfare Capitalism
Gosta Esping-Andersen
Doesn’t like any of these options
Looks to the role of groups in decision making
Namely: Business, Labour and Government
Where these groups compromise, strong welfare states appear to emerge
Where these groups act in competition, trying to gain advantage over the others, welfare states are weak