Lecture 5: Empires, CityStates, CityLeagues,

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Lecture 5 Empires, City-States, City-Leagues,
The Sovereign State
1. Why Did The Sovereign State Come To Dominate
The International System? 2. What Is A
State? 3. The State In Comparative Perspective
-- Feudalism Versus The Modern State 4.
Multiple Forms Of Political Organization --
Empires, City-Leagues, City-States, States 5.
The Victory Of The Sovereign State
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Victory of Sovereign State

• Todays Puzzle
• Why Did The Sovereign State Come To Dominate The
• International System?
• Sovereign States is a Social Construct
• Sovereign State Only Slowly Emerges as Dominant
• Change in Unit Alters System Dynamics

We take the state for granted today.
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Definition Of The State
What is a State?
Grab a Partner and Write Down the Most Concise
and Most Complete Definition You Can Think Of.
You Will Be Reading It Aloud in a Moment
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Definition Of The State
Max Weber (1864-1920), German Sociologist A
State Is A Human Community That Successfully
Claims A Monopoly Of Legitimate Use Of Physical
Force Within A Given Area

• Useful Starting Point
• -- State Controls Territory
• -- State Possesses Coercion Wielding
  Organizations
• 1. Internal Coercion 2. External Coercion
• -- State Is A Permanent Organization
• Monopoly??? Legitimate???

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Revised Definition Of State
A State is a Territorially Defined, Permanent
Political Institution with Specialized Coercive
Apparatuses to Regulate Domestic Political and
Economic Competition and to Protect the Territory
from External Threats.
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Sovereignty

• Supreme Decision-Making Decision-Enforcing
  Authority
• Resides In The State And No Other Social
  Institution.
• Internal Component States Can Order Their
• Domestic Affairs As They See Fit.
• External Component All States In The
  International
• System Possess The Same Rights And Status.
• Two Important Aspects To Remember
• -- Sovereignty Is Not Independence
• -- Sovereignty Is A Norm Not A Law

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Sovereignty
Is Sovereignty a Good Thing?
Should Countries Support the Norm of Sovereignty?
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Feudalism
1. Loyalty Is Personal 2. All Administration Is
Local Center Is Weak 3. Security Is Provided At
The Local Level 4. Lacks Stable And Permanent
Government Institutions 5. Private Citizens Have
The Right To Use Force 6. Multiple And
Overlapping Layers Of Authority
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Multiple And Overlapping Layers Of Authority

• Political Power
• Example Henry II Of England Crowned 1154 A.D.
• -- Inherits Normandy And Brittany From Mother
• -- Inherits Anjou, Maine, And Touraine From
  Father
• -- Inherits Aquitaine From Wife
• Religious Power
• -- Pope Has Religious Authority Over Monarchs
• -- Some Monarchs Anointed By The Pope
• -- Monarchs Appoint Many Bishops And Abbots
• -- Many Nobles Hold Fiefs From Church
• -- Bishops Hold Seats in Early Parliaments

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Multiple Forms Of Political Organization
1. Empires (e.g., Ancient Rome, Austria-Hungary,
Church) 2. City-leagues (e.g., Hanseatic
League) 3. City-states (e.g., Venice And
Genoa) 4. Sovereign States (e.g., France and the
U.S.)
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Empires City-States City-Leagues Sovereign
States 1. size very large small small large 2.
potential military power very large limited limite
d large 3. economic broad base small
base small base large base wealth low
extraction hi extraction low extraction hi
extraction 4. penetration low high low high of
society 5.loyalty of citizens Low High Low High
6. difficulty breaking-up easy hard easy hard 7.
collective action problem no no yes no 8.
ethnic composition heterogeneous homogeneous heter
ogeneous homogeneous
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Spruyts Argument On The Victory Of The
Sovereign State
Economic Changes
Towns, Trade Monetization
Demand for New Organizations
Evolutionary Competition the Victory of
Sovereign State
City-States, City-Leagues, Empires and Sovereign
States
Efficiency Raising Armies And Lowering
Transaction Costs
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Strengths of Spruyts Account
1. Explains why large units are more
efficient. -- coinage -- weights and
measures -- standardized legal code and tax
system 2. Importance of Internal Hierarchy --
hierarchy versus equality -- collective action
problems
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Four Weaknesses in Spruyts Account
1. Does He Under Emphasize the Importance of the
Military Revolution? 2. Are Internal Divisions
Within City-States Important? Or Is Size a
Better Explanation for Their Failure? 3. Were
Empires Efficient Organizations Until the Rise of
Nationalism? 4. Were City-Leagues Were More
Expansionist Than Sovereign States?
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Internal Opposition
Le Pont de Courbevoie (1886-7) by George Pierre
Seurat (1859-1891)
Perspective
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Conclusions

• Victory of the Sovereign State Has Important
  Implications
• Caveat Is History Written by the Victors?
• Is the Dominance of the Sovereign State Permanent?