The Future of the State

This groundbreaking book explores the transformation of the state amidst crises and envisions its future role in democracy and global politics.

The state has been a dominant political form for at least the last two hundred years. The Future of the State is a multi-authored volume that delves into the transformation of the state as it encounters historical and conceptual crises. The authors envision how the state could be re-constituted in light of these challenges, providing a comprehensive exploration of its evolution over the past two centuries.

In recent discussions, the state is often viewed as being in crisis, attributed to two primary factors: its shifting role in an increasingly globalized international system and its intricate relationship with democracy, a critical concept in contemporary politics. Authoritarian leaders utilize the state to affirm sovereignty, even amidst international integration, while democratic movements frequently bolster the regimes they seek to challenge. This raises important questions about the future of governance: Is there an alternative model? Should we reconceptualize the nature of the state?

These pressing questions are examined by an international group of scholars in The Future of the State. Drawing upon the history of political thought, continental philosophy, and modern political examples, they engage with a broad dialectical tradition. This includes phenomenological transcendentalism and the political philosophies of both French public law and German thinkers beyond Weber. The outcome is a critical political philosophy that offers a realistic vision of what an effective democratic state could and should resemble.