POL 202 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Bourgeoisie, Institutional Theory, Conflict Theories
8 Sep 2016
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The modern state, state capacity, & state-society relationship. In class: state=country in this context, anarchy, civil society, the state, legitimate vs. not legitimate use of force, trains of modern states, functions of modern states. Unlike feudalism in which hierarchical ties linked peasants to kings with a nobility mediation between them. Peasants could not petition to change things, kings could not have standardized taxation or provide services to peasants. Authority was very local & arbitrary, laws but no rule of law. Rule of law--a system that imposes regularized rules in a polity, with key criteria including equal rights, the regular enforcement of laws, & the relative independence of the judiciary. In modern state, all use of force considered legitimate in a society ultimately traces its legitimacy back to the state. Modern state--concept used to distinguish states in the modern world from earlier forms of political centralization; it includes features such as extensive bureaucracy, centralization of violence, & impersonality.
