POLSC221: Introduction to Comparative Politics

2.1: The State

• Boundless: "State Formation" Page

  Read this article. Click on the links for further information on specific terms.
  

• 2.1.1: Defining the State

  • Boundless: "Characteristics and Functions of the State" Page

    Read these articles. What is the difference between a state and a nation? Compare and contrast the different political theories on the role of government in society.
    

• 2.1.2: The Treaty of Westphalia the Origins of the Modern State

  • Yale University: Steven Smith's "The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan, Part I" Page

    Watch this lecture from 5:30 to 7:30. Make sure you are clear on the origins and date of the Treaty of Westphalia. Why is the Treaty of Westphalia considered the birth of nation-state system?