Origins, Development, and Possible Decline of the Modern State – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from Spruyt's Origins, Development, and Contemporary Relevance of the Modern State.

Sovereignty

The principle of territorial rule: authority is fixed within borders, with internal supremacy and external recognition of states as juridically equal actors.

Territorial sovereignty

The idea that political authority is circumscribed by fixed borders; within those borders, authority is exclusive.

Internal sovereignty

The supreme authority of a state over its domestic affairs within its territory.

External sovereignty

Recognition by other states and international law that a state is a sovereign, legal equal in the international system.

Westphalian system

The international order (originating with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia) of sovereign, territorially defined states with mutually recognized borders.

Capstone government

The centralized, overarching ruling elite in premodern states that overlays society and ties together dispersed elites.

Premodern state

States with personalistic, non-territorial rule and weak formal administration, taxation, and market institutions.

Modern state

A sovereign territorial state with strong capacity to tax, legislate, enforce, and mobilize, and with standardized legal codes.

Quasi-state

An entity legally recognized as sovereign but lacking full capacity to perform essential state functions.

Nation-state

A territorial state that has developed a shared political identity among its subjects and a cohesive national consciousness.

Mercantilism

An early modern economic doctrine where the state actively directs trade and production to increase national wealth.

War making (as catalyst)

Military changes that drive state-building: larger armies, centralized administration, higher taxation, and greater state capacity.

Sinews of power

Money and fiscal capacity; the financial resources needed to wage war and sustain the state.

Levee en masse

Mass mobilization of the population for national military service, a hallmark of early modern state formation.

Trace italienne

A type of star-shaped fortification requiring centralized funding and larger tax bases.

Roman law

Revived classical legal principles that supported property rights, written contracts, and formal courts—facilitating modern legal codes.

New institutionalism

A school that explains political outcomes by focusing on institutions, transaction costs, information, and path dependency.

Macro-level explanations

Accounts that stress large-scale structural factors (military, economic) as drivers of state formation.

Micro-level explanations

Accounts that focus on individual actors, coalitions, and negotiated bargains within constraints.

Three-tiered perspective

An analytical framework combining macro variations, institutional constraints, and individual choices.

Globalization/regionalization

Expansion of trade and finance that shapes state policy and can promote regional governance like the EU.

Territorial integrity norm

International expectation that borders should be respected and not altered by force.

International law sovereignty

Sovereignty as a regulative principle in international law; states are juridically equal within a system of rules.

Shadow states

Non-traditional security actors within or across states that perform governance or coercive functions outside formal authority.

Path dependence

The idea that historical choices constrain future options, creating lock-in and limited institutional change.

Convergence/divergence of state models

Debates about whether states increasingly resemble one another or diverge due to historical legacies.