Max Weber's Theory of the Modern State : Origins, Structure and Significance

Andreas Anter reconstructs Max Weber's theory of the modern state, showing its significance to contemporary political science. He reveals the ambivalence of Weber's political thought: the oscillation between an étatiste position, mainly oriented to the reason of state, and an individualistic one, focussed on the freedom of individuals Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface to the English Edition 10 Translator’s Preface 12 Acknowledgements 13 Introduction 14 1 Aspects of the Concept of the State 22 1 The ideal-typical character of the concept of the state 25 2 A state without qualities? The question of the state’s purpose 28 3 The monopoly of force 38 4 The state as institution 49 5 The criterion of the political 52 2 State and Rulership 59 1 State and legitimacy 65 2 Staring into the depths with a clear head: the legitimacy of legality 71 3 Charismatic rule in the modern state? 75 4 From personal to impersonal rule: East Elbia as a precursor of the modern state 80 5 Democracy and bureaucracy in the modern state 84 3 Hermeneutics of the State 93 1 The Action-oriented conception of the state 93 2 The concept of chance 101 3 Knowledge of the state 108 4 Theory of the State and Value Judgements 115 1 The “perspective of reason of state” 118 2 The nation as value 124 3 The Machtstaat 137 4 The state and ethics 146 5 The state and the struggle over values 152 6 Max Weber’s ambivalence 159 5 The Archaeology of the Modern State 162 1 The emergence of the modern state 165 2 The history of the state as the history of bureaucracy 28 3 Max Weber’s questions 183 4 State and law 186 5 The rationalisation of the state 202 6 The State as Machine 208 1 The metaphor of the state as machine 209 2 The state as enterprise 215 3 Max Weber’s ambivalence 219 Conclusion 229 Bibliography 232 Index 257 Andreas Anter reconstructs Max Weber's theory of the modern state, showing its significance to contemporary political science. He reveals the ambivalence of Weber's political thought: the oscillation between an etatiste position, mainly oriented to the reason of state, and an individualistic one, focussed on the freedom of individuals. Andreas Anter reconstructs Max Weber's fragmentary theory of the modern state showing its relationship to contemporary theories and its significance for today's political science. The book consists of six chapters: The first analyses Weber's concept of the state, the second relates the theory of the state to the sociology of rule and domination, the third and fourth discuss Weber's hermeneutics and his doctrine of value-judgements, the fifth deals with the history of the modern state, and the final chapter focuses on Weber's metaphor of the state as 'machine'. Anter reveals the ambivalence of Weber's political thought: the oscillation between an etatiste position, mainly oriented to the reason of state, and an individualistic one, focussed on the freedom of individuals. He shows how much worse off we would be without Weber's theory, not at least by indicating its impact upon later authors Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-8 Aspects of the Concept of the State....Pages 9-45 State and Rulership....Pages 46-79 Hermeneutics of the State....Pages 80-101 Theory of the State and Value Judgements....Pages 102-148 The Archaeology of the Modern State....Pages 149-194 The State as Machine....Pages 195-215 Conclusion....Pages 216-218 Back Matter....Pages 219-249