The Western State and the Outside World

While the development of the state has thus far been discussed in terms primarily of domestic forces, the international context has also been important. Geopolitical competition, and especially war, has often been seen as playing a significant role in state development. But the international context also includes the broader relationship between Western Europe and the rest of the world, most especially Asia. This raises the question of the non-European state and claims about both the uniqueness and superiority of the Western state form.