The state of the state: The model of the modern state and its contemporary transformation

The first part of this article sketches the ideal-type of the territorially consolidated, sovereign nation-state. The second part discusses how the assumptions of "homogeneity," "unity," and "sovereignty" that underlie this ideal-type have become problematized over the past few decades. The moves toward a state form that institutionalizes polycentricity, heterogeneity, and plurality are discussed in the context of the conflict between nationalism and multiculturalism; the internationalization of the state; and geopolitical transformations. Methodologically, the article puts forward an argument in favor of a historically informed institutional analysis of state transformations.