The Nation-State and Global Order: A Historical Introduction to Contemporary Politics, by Walter C. Opello Jr. and Stephen J. Rosow

 

Part 1. Formation and Emergence of the Territorial State

 

The modern territorial state exhibits continuities and discontinuities with its past. In Part 1 we examine the legacies of the Roman Empire, feudalism, and medieval monarchies in the genesis of the modern state. We focus on the emergence of institutions, such as standing armies, centralized administrations, and economies framed by territory-wide legal structures, as well as the transformations of political language and knowledge that made the modern territorial state possible. In addition, we establish an interpretive framework in which the specific histories of modern states, within and beyond Europe, can be understood.

 

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