The Changing Global Theoretical Perspectives of the State in a Contemporary Analysis

Abstract

Over the years, issues relating to the origin, nature and purpose of the state remain a recurrent question that has transcended all generational scholarship. The problem is compounded by the changes and contradictions that have occurred in the theoretical bases of the state, and the challenges of contemporary realities. These contradictions reveal the overwhelming crisis of conceptualization of the state especially, in modern era. This is because the institution of the state which, in its theoretical meaning, came up to instill law and order has become an instrument of societal injustices and harbinger of conflicts. This has invariably exposed most existing theories of the state to unpalatable ridicule as they fail to provide the much needed explanatory bases. This paper therefore, takes critical look at the theoretical and institutional bases of the state pin¬pointing as the case may be, the positions of various theories, their inherent analytical and logical contradictions as well as their contemporary relevance in explaining the existence, actions and inactions of the state in the present era of human existence.