State Formation

Catalog description

Offered intermittently. Prereq., PSCI 220S . Restricted to students with at least junior standing. This course examines the concept of the ‘state’ and evaluates explanations for the emergence and proliferation of this form of organization throughout the world. Questions: what is the ‘state’? What is the relationship of the state to the rest of ‘society’? How has the state affected or altered human behavior and belief? What are the political-economic institutions most associated with the ‘state’? What is/has been the role of the state in promoting industrialization and economic development and how has the process of industrialization in turn affected the state?