Short Course Description
The study of the state should be according to political theorists at the very center of political science, and yet we devote little time to study what states are and where they come from. This advanced seminar will deepen your knowledge about the state, different dimensions of state power - capacity, autonomy, etc. - and, in particular, its origins. The seminar will center mostly on the so-called bellicist theory of state formation and provide a broad historical overview of these dynamics in most regions of the world. The seminar will adopt a broad disciplinary perspective addressing the issue from a variety of methods ranging from comparative historical analysis to econometrics, and a broad variety of sub-disciplines, from historical sociology to political economy.
Full syllabus will be available to registered students only
