State Formations: Global Histories and Cultures of Statehood

by John L Brooke (Editor), Julia C. Strauss (Editor), Greg Anderson (Editor)

Featuring a sweeping array of essays from scholars of state formation and development, this book presents an overview of approaches to studying the history of the state. Focusing on the question of state formation, this volume takes a particular look at the beginnings, structures, and constant reforming of state power. Not only do the contributors draw upon both modernist and postmodernist theoretical perspectives, they also address the topic from a global standpoint, examining states from all areas of the world. In their diverse and thorough exploration of state building, the authors cross the theoretical, geographic, and chronological boundaries that traditionally shape this field in order to rethink the customary macro and micro approaches to the study of state building and make the case for global histories of both pre-modern and modern state formations.

Genres: History, Politics

404 pages, Paperback

Published March 29, 2018

Reviews

[Dimitrii Ivanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide-ranging (in both approaches and material) collection of papers on various aspects and types of statehood, from archaeology of the Indus Valley through to sociology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Rather enlightening as to how diverse scholarship is but does not present a single model that could be easily borrowed.