3 Review(s)

The third edition of State Theories updates the historical context of theories of the state by considering the impact of the decline of the welfare state in the post-Fordist era, the collapse of Eastern European and Soviet communism and the emergence of the so-called global information-based economies. New material has been added to the chapters dealing with pluralism and neo-Marxism (most importantly, regulation theory). Theories that address the gendered nature of the liberal democratic state have been expanded into a separate chapter, including issues raised by feminist and gay/lesbian theorizing. A completely new chapter addresses some of the most recent developments in state theory: addressing issues such as the debates about the relevance of the nation state in the global era, the post-modernist critique of totalizing theory and the impact of identity politics on the process of theorizing the state.