SOCIOLOGY OF THE STATE REVISITED

Political science has supplied a large number of paradigms with which to approach our knowledge of the state (in particular on the basis of the works of Max Weber, Durkheim and Marx). These paradigms have recen tly been thrown into disarray by the constructs of historical sociolog y, which have queried their unduly universalist, and at times evolutio nist or determinist, view of things. These recent constructs have also been discussed and have been instrumental in sparking off a debate th e main features of which are described in this article, which brings o ut the very latest developments: social crisis and the international c risis of the state.