Chapter Overview

This chapter introduces students to the concept of the "state". It starts by asking why the state and national policies have come to dominate our attention. The chapter then notes that people haven’t always been organized into states and traces the development and origins of modern states. Next, the chapter looks at the relationship between the "state" and the "nation" and provides examples of the problems that arise when the correspondence between the two is loose. The chapter ends with an overview of some of the ways the state is being challenged "from above" and "from below," some possible alternatives to the state and a description of how states have been grouped (the West, East, South, Third World, etc.). The development of what is now the Europe Union (E.U.) and how the Nigerian state was established are also covered.

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