Présentation de l'éditeur

Most books about public power and the state deal with their subject from the point of view of legal theory, sociology or political science. This book, without claiming to deliver a comprehensive theory of law and state, aims to inform by offering a fresh reading of history and institutions, particularly as they have developed in continental Europe and European political and legal science.

Drawing on a remarkably wide range of sources from both Western and Eastern Europe, the author suggests that only by knowing the history of the state, and state administration since the twelfth century, can we begin to comprehend the continuing importance of the state and public powers in modern Europe.

In an era of globalization, when the importance of international law and institutions frequently lead to the claim that the state either no longer exists or no longer matters, the truth is in fact more complex. We now live in an era where the balance is shifting away from the struggle to build states based on democratic values, towards fundamental values existing above and beyond the borders of nations and states, under the watchful gaze of judges bound by the rule of law.

122 pages

Sommaire

Lesson 1: From the Roman Empire to the Rebirth of Public Powers in Europe

The World becomes Roman
New Rome, Constantinople, and a New Europe
The New Religion, the Roman Empire and Europe
Charlemagne, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Constantinople
The Late Roman Empire and the Concept of State
Concluding Remarks

Lesson 2: Public Administration 

Jus Politiae
Public Administration and Public Law
Public Administration and Fiskus
The Development of a Public Administration in England
Public Administration of States and other 'Public' or 'Private' Administrations
The Divide between Public Law and Private Law

Lesson 3: The 'Modern' State and its Foundations: The Rule of Law

The French Revolution of 1789 and the Rule of Law
The Ideas of AV Dicey, the Rule of Law and the Principle of Legality
The Rule of Law or Principle of Legality in Modern Times

Lesson 4: The Concept of the 'Modern' State

The French Concept of State
The German Concept of State

Lesson 5: From Decentralization to Devolution

Decentralization
Selbstverwaltung
From Federalism to Regionalism
Devolution

Lesson 6: The 'Modern' State: From the One-class State to the Multi-class State and its Evolution

The One-class State of the Nineteenth Century
Towards the Multi-class State
The Multi-class State
The Fascist State
The State of the Bolshevik Revolution
The Second World War and the Multi-class State
Democratic State, State of Law, Social State
The Classless State?

Lesson 7: The 'Modern' State Integrating in the International Community

A Fragmented and Simultaneously Integrated International Environment
The Reaction of the State, Crises, Reforms and the Gradual Constellation of Multi-level Public Power, both Nationally and Internationally
The Dilution of the States in the International Environment and the Rule of Law

Conclusions