State Creation since 1776: Empires, nations and the changing international order - Detailseite

How do new states emerge? How do states disintegrate? Are there any patterns that we can discern in the successive waves of state creation in the last two centuries? What is the relationship between international norms and local societal conflicts? These questions will be at the core of this multi-disciplinary seminar aimed at bringing a global perspective to the analysis of the ever changing configuration of the international order of territorial states. The course will offer students a theoretically grounded case study selection that will illustrate the complexity of the process of state creation and the way the local and the global interact. After a theoretical reflection during the first few weeks, the seminar will follow a chronological structure that will seek to incorporate the narratives of different regional “peripheries”. Its aim is to challenge the established Eurocentric models of state creation explanation in which the nation-state is seen an integral part in attaining a successful modernity.