State Theory and the Law

An Introduction

Thomas Vesting, Professor for Public Law, Legal Theory and Media Theory, Faculty of Law, Goethe University, Germany

There has been renewed and growing interest in exploring the significant role played by law in the centralization of power and sovereignty – right from the earliest point. This timely book serves as an introduction into state theory, providing an overview of the conceptual history and the interdisciplinary tradition of the continental European general theory of the state.

‘This is a timely book that takes a fresh look at an old concept: the state! The original approach chosen by Thomas Vesting consists in a new theory of the state that is focused on its cognitive and cultural meaning. It builds a bridge between legal and political sciences and sheds new light on the knowledge base of both state and society. It rewrites the history of the state and reconfigures the conception of the state of the network society.’
——卡尔Ladeur,汉堡大学,Germany