Ps. Gorski, THE PROTESTANT ETHIC REVISITED - DISCIPLINARY REVOLUTION AND STATE FORMATION IN HOLLAND AND PRUSSIA, American journal of sociology, 99(2), 1993, pp. 265-316
Current theories explain state structure and strength in terms of diff
erences in socioeconomic and administrative development. Here, it is a
rgued that a third factor was also critical in early modern state form
ation: a disciplinary revolution unleashed by ascetic Protestant movem
ents. The essay critiques Foucault's and Elias's theories of social di
sciplinization, explores the importance of disciplinary revolutions fo
r the formation of two types of states (constitutional republics and m
ilitary-bureaucratic monarchies), and seeks to identify and correct de
ficiencies in the neo-Marxist and institutionalist theories of the sta
te.