Abstract

FLOREZ RUIZ, José Fernando. From machiavelli to the Postmodern State. Political Paradigms to Approach the State Phenomenon. Rev. Derecho Estado [online]. 2012, n.29, pp.107-144. ISSN 0122-9893.

This paper makes a summary of the developments in the canonical readings of the State as a political object, from a multidisciplinary perspective. The starting point is the process of secularization in the study of the State, driven by Machiavelli with the publication of The Prince in the early sixteenth century. Subsequently it explores: (1) the seminal contribution of juridical thought and political philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the construction of societal perceptions of the State, until the emergence of the "Rule of Law" model; (2) the changes that the democratic revolution meant for the phenomenon of the State; (3) the renewing effect on the research agenda over the last three decades of studies on the transformation of political regimes, the development of welfare states, social capital and democratic effectiveness; (4) the new epistemological paths traced by globalization, neo-constitutionalism and public policy analysis. The text concludes with a reflection on the future of the nation-state and democracy models, currently prevalent, for the organization and exercising of power; and on the characteristics of the new scientific paradigm conveyed by the discourse of failed states. The concise nature of the article naturally excludes any claim of being exhaustive; rather, it focuses on the most relevant mutations of the conceptual tools used in State analysis.

Keywords : Arab Spring; democracy; failed states; globalization; neo-constitutionalism; political regimes; public policy; social capital; Welfare State; State performance; scientific paradigms.

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