Making a Modern Political Order: The Problem of the Nation State

Sheehans book makes a convincing case that the modern political order arises out of peoples shared expectations and hopes,without which the nation state could not exist. He divides these expectations into three groups: first, expectations about the definition and character of political space, which are connected to the emergence of a new kind of state; second, expectations about the nature of political communities; and third, expectations about the international system. The author claims that the modern nation state must balance all three organizing principles if it is to succeed.

Format: Hardback
Length: 246 pages
Publication date: 01 May 2023
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

Sheehans insightful book makes a compelling case that the modern political order arises out of peoples shared expectations and hopes, without which the nation-state could not exist.

Every political order depends on a set of shared expectations about how the order does and should work. In Making a Modern Political Order, James Sheehan provides a sophisticated analysis of these expectations and shows how they are a source of both cohesion and conflict in the modern society of nation-states. The author divides these expectations into three groups: first, expectations about the definition and character of political space, which in the modern era are connected to the emergence of a new kind of state; second, expectations about the nature of political communities (that is, about how people relate to one another and to their governments); and finally, expectations about the international system (namely, how states interact in a society of nation-states). Although Sheehan treats these three dimensions of the political order separately, they are closely bound together, each dependent on—and reinforcing—the others. Ultimately, he claims, the modern nation-state must balance all three organizing principles if it is to succeed.

Sheehans project begins with an examination of peoples expectations about political space, community, and international society in the premodern European world that came to be called the “ancien régime.” He then, in chapters on states, nations, and the society of nation-states, proceeds to trace the development of a modern political order that slowly and unevenly replaced the ancien régime in Europe and eventually spread throughout the world. To close, he offers some speculations about the horizon ahead of us, beyond which lies a future order that may someday.

Weight: 496g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780268205379