Preface 1. Introduction 2. The modern state 3. Social order in anarchy 4. Legitimacy 5. Reasons 6. Justice 7. Sovereignty 8. Boundaries 9. The functions of governments 10. States: pretenses, powers, prospects Notes Index.

Many analysts claim that international politics has recently entered a new era, following the end of the Cold War and then the events of September 11th. In this book, Kalevi Holsti asks what we mean by 'change' in international politics. How do we identify it? How do we distinguish between significant and unimportant changes? Do we really live in a new era or do we see more continuity than transformation in the texture of international politics? Combining theoretical and empirical argument, Holsti investigates eight major international institutions including the state, sovereignty, territoriality, international law, diplomacy, trade and war. Having identified the types of change these institutions have undergone during the last three centuries, Holsti analyses the sources of those changes and speculates on their consequences. This is a major book, likely to have lasting influence in the study of international politics.

An essay on the modern state

Taming the Sovereigns: Institutional Change in International Politics

IWHEN WE TRACE the genealogy of a concept, we uncover the different ways in which it may have been used in earlier times. We thereby equip ourselves with a means of reflecting critically on how it is currently understood. With these considerations in mind, I attempt in what follows to sketch a genealogy of the modern state. Before embarking on this project, however, I need to make two cautionary remarks about the limitations of its scope. I assume in the first place that the only method by which we can hope confidently to identify the views of specific writers about the concept of the state will be to examine the precise circumstances in which they invoke and discuss the term state. I consequently focus as much as possible on how this particular word came to figure in successive debates about the nature of public power. The other limitation I need to signal is that I confine myself exclusively to Anglophone traditions of thought. I do so in part because I need to bring my historical materials under some kind of control, but mainly because it seems to me that any study of the changing vocabularies in which moral or political concepts are formulated can only be fruitfully pursued by examining the histories of individual linguistic communities. To attempt a broader analysis would be to assume that such terms as lo stato, l’Etat and Der Staat express the same concept as the term state, and this would be to presuppose what would have to be shown. Hence the seemingly arbitrary restriction of my historical gaze.

A Genealogy of the Modern State

What is justice? Questions of justice are questions about what people are due. However, what that means in practice depends on the context in which the question is raised. Depending on context, the formal question of what people are due is answered by principles of desert, reciprocity, equality, or need. Justice, therefore, is a constellation of elements that exhibit a degree of integration and unity. Nonetheless, the integrity of justice is limited, in a way that is akin to the integrity of a neighborhood rather than that of a building. A theory of justice offers individuals a map of that neighborhood, within which they can explore just what elements amount to justice.

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The elements of justice

Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) was originally conceived to address the global problem of climate change by reducing deforestation and forest degradation at national and subnational levels in developing countries. Since its inception, REDD+ proponents have increasingly had to adapt global ideas to local demands, as the rollout process was met with on-the-ground realities, including suspicion and protest. As is typical in aid or ‘development’ projects conceived in the global North, most of the solutions advanced to improve REDD+ tend to focus on addressing issues of justice (or ‘fairness’) in distributive terms, rather than addressing more inherently political objections to REDD+ such as those based on rights or social justice. Using data collected from over 700 interviews in five countries with both REDD+ and non-REDD+ cases, we argue that the failure to incorporate political notions of justice into conservation projects such as REDD+ results in ‘messiness’ within governance systems, which is a symptom of injustice and illegitimacy. We find that, first, conservation, payment for ecosystem services, and REDD+ project proponents viewed problems through a technical rather than political lens, leading to solutions that focused on procedures, such as ‘benefit distribution.’ Second, focusing on the technical aspects of interventions came at the expense of political solutions such as the representation of local people’s concerns and recognition of their rights. Third, the lack of attention to representation and recognition justices resulted in illegitimacy. This led to messiness in the governance systems, which was often addressed in technical terms, thereby perpetuating the problem. If messiness is not appreciated and addressed from appropriate notions of justice, projects such as REDD+ are destined to fail.

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Messiness of forest governance: How technical approaches suppress politics in REDD+ and conservation projects

Introduction: A Historical Approach to the State and Global Order The Emergence of the Territorial State The Ancient Roman State: Imperial Rule The Feudal State: Indirect Fule The Medieval State: Territorial Sovereignty Instituted The Modern Territorial State The Absolutist State: Sovereignty Unbound. The Liberal Constitutional State: Sovereignty Popularized The Antiliberal State: Sovereignty Particularized The Managerial State: Sovereignty Rationalized Globalizing the Territorial State The Colonial State: Sovereignty Expanded The Nation-State: Sovereignty Reimagined The Postcolonial State: Instituting Sovereignty Challenges to the State The Present State of States: Sovereignity Challenged Conclusion: A New Global Order?

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The Nation-State and Global Order: A Historical Introduction to Contemporary Politics

/pdf/an-essay-on-the-modern-state-58vu9yb7ij.pdf

An essay on the modern state

Citations

Taming the Sovereigns: Institutional Change in International Politics

A Genealogy of the Modern State

The elements of justice

Messiness of forest governance: How technical approaches suppress politics in REDD+ and conservation projects

The Nation-State and Global Order: A Historical Introduction to Contemporary Politics

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