Week 1
What Is the State?
Readings & materials
- Britannica “Nation-State” article
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “The State”
- Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation (BBC In Our Time summary)
Discussion
- What do we mean when we say “the state”?
- How is a state different from a nation or government?
- Why do humans form political communities?
- What makes a state legitimate? What is sovereignty?
ExerciseDistinguish between states, governments, and regimes with specific examples. Why do political scientists need these distinctions? (800 words)
Weeks 2–3
The State and the Social Contract
Readings & materials
- John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, Chapters 2–3
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book I, Ch. 1–3 (Cranston tr.)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Hobbes’ “Moral and Political Philosophy”
Discussion
- How do Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau differ on human nature?
- How useful is the social contract for understanding citizen–state relations?
- Can children born into a society be said to have consented to its contract?
- Can we devise social-contract justifications for COVID-19 lockdowns?
ExerciseCompare Hobbes’s and Locke’s conceptions of the state of nature. What different assumptions about human nature underlie their theories? How do these lead to different conclusions about the legitimate scope of state power? (800 words)
Weeks 4–5
Power and Inequality — Marxist Thought
Readings & materials
- Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (extracts)
- George Orwell, “The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius” (extracts)
Discussion
- Why did Marx think the state serves the ruling class?
- Can a capitalist state act against capitalist interests? Does that refute Marx?
- Marx argues the state will “wither away”. Is a stateless society possible in modern economies?
ExerciseEvaluate Marx’s theory of the state as an instrument of class domination. Does it adequately explain welfare states, labour protections, or progressive taxation? How might Marxists respond to these counter-examples? (800 words)
Week 6
Authority and Bureaucracy — Weber and Modern Government
Readings & materials
- Max Weber, “Bureaucracy” in Economy and Society (extracts)
- Case study: civil-service reform in modern British democracy
Discussion
- Is the “iron cage” of bureaucracy unavoidable?
- Can Weber’s distinction between authority and coercion be maintained in practice?
- Does bureaucracy serve efficiency, or does it shield elites from accountability?
ExerciseIs the professionalisation of politics (career politicians, political consultants) an example of bureaucratisation? If so, is this good or bad for democracy? (800 words)
Weeks 7–8
State-Building and Post-Conflict Politics
Readings & materials
- Charles Tilly, “War Making and State Making as Organised Crime” (extracts)
- Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, Ch. 1
- Case studies: Rwanda after 1994; Iraq after 2003
Discussion
- Why is violence central to the birth of many states?
- How do new states develop legitimacy after war or occupation?
- What are the problems with external intervention in state-building?
ExerciseEvaluate competing strategies for post-conflict justice: retributive justice (trials), restorative justice (truth commissions), or amnesty. Which best serves state-building objectives? Use at least two cases. (800 words)
Week 9
Liberalism, Democracy, and Freedom
Readings & materials
- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (extracts)
- Robert Dahl, On Democracy (extracts)
Discussion
- How do elections and participation bolster the state’s legitimacy?
- Should liberal states tolerate illiberal groups?
- Should democracies restrict speech that undermines democracy itself?
- Are democracies always “better states” than authoritarian ones?
ExerciseUsing a case study (COVID-19 lockdowns, counter-terror surveillance, restrictions on radical-right protest, etc.), evaluate the trade-off between liberty and security in modern states. (800 words)
Week 10
The Welfare State and Economic Justice
Readings & materials
- John Maynard Keynes, The End of Laissez-Faire (extracts)
- Milton Friedman lecture, “The Fallacy of the Welfare State”
Discussion
- What are the main tensions between Keynes’s and Friedman’s ideas?
- What obligations do states have toward citizens’ well-being?
- Are social rights unconditional, or do they depend on reciprocal contributions?
- Arguments for and against Universal Basic Income
ExerciseCompare the US healthcare system with the British NHS as two opposing models of state welfare provision. Drawing on the pathway’s ideas (citizenship rights, obligations, the state’s role), make the case for one. (800 words)
Week 11
Feminist and Critical Theories of the State
Readings & materials
- Carole Pateman, The Sexual Contract (extracts)
- Catharine A. MacKinnon, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State (extracts)
Discussion
- How does MacKinnon argue gender affects our experience of the state?
- How were women excluded from Pateman’s “original contract”?
- Is political representation sufficient for gender justice?
- What would a “feminist state” look like?
ExerciseAnalyse MacKinnon’s claim that “the state is male.” What does she mean? Are you persuaded? Give examples of policies or state structures to illustrate. (800 words)
Week 12
Nation, Identity, and Belonging
Readings & materials
- Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (extracts)
- Partha Chatterjee, “Whose Imagined Community?” (extracts)
Discussion
- Civic vs. ethnic vs. cultural conceptions of nationhood
- What turns a population into a “nation”?
- How do symbols, language, and memory sustain national identity?
- Can nations exist without states — or states without nations?
ExerciseAnalyse the relationship between nationalism and democracy. Does national identity strengthen democracy (through solidarity) or weaken it (through exclusion)? Use empirical examples. (800 words)
Week 13
Globalisation and the Erosion of Sovereignty
Readings & materials
- Saskia Sassen, Losing Control? Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization (extracts)
- David Held TED Talk: “Global Governance… into the Future”
Discussion
- How does globalisation challenge the traditional state?
- What happens to democracy when decisions cross borders?
- Can international institutions replace state sovereignty?
- Who governs the global economy?
ExerciseWhat would a “post-national” world (one where globalisation triumphs over nation-states as the organising principle) look like in practice? Evaluate the benefits and challenges of this idea. (800 words)
Week 14
Technology, Surveillance, and the Digital State
Readings & materials
- Glenn Greenwald, No Place to Hide (extracts)
- Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (extracts)
Discussion
- How do states use technology to manage or monitor citizens?
- How do states enlist tech companies to surveil citizens?
- Where should the line between safety and privacy be drawn?
- Should data rights be treated as human rights?
ExerciseAssess competing approaches to data governance: market-based (US), rights-based (EU), or state-controlled (China). Which best balances innovation, privacy, and security? Defend your answer. (800 words)
Week 15
Conclusion — Synthesising the Pathway
Readings & materials
- Review of all primary texts and exercises
- Final-project planning materials
Discussion
- Key takeaways from the pathway
- Which ideas did you find most interesting, challenging, and provocative, and why?
- Which theories of the state did you find most compelling?
- Concluding reflections on why states exist, what states owe their citizens, and vice versa
ExerciseBrainstorm and outline ideas for the final 3,000-word project. Choose your topic and draft a thesis.