War, armed force, and the people : state formation and transformation in historical perspective / Walter C. Opello Jr.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: war, state formation, and transformation -- Private war and the feudal state -- Disciplined war and the centralized kingly state -- People's war and the national state -- Industrial war and the managerial welfare state -- Air-atomic war and the national security state -- Unmanned war and the neoliberal state -- Internal war and the weak state -- Conclusion: war and state deformation.

Throughout history, innovations in military technology have transformed warfare, which, in turn, affected state formation. This interplay between warfare, military technology, and state formation is the focus of this text. Theoretically grounded in the bellicist approach to the study of war and state, which posits that war is a normal part of human experience, the book argues that the threat of war by powerful, predatory neighbors has been, until relatively recently, the prime mover of state formation. Using a historical approach, it explains how advances in military technology have transformed war, and how new modes of war in turn have transformed forms of politico-military rule, especially with regard to the relationship between the state, armed force, and the people. -- Provided by publisher.