POL 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Protection Racket, Wiping, Mercantilism

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 1101
• Professor: Jacquline Best

Document Summary

Tilly"s definition of the modern state: centralized, differentiated organizations, control over the concentrated means of violence within a population or territory. Tilly"s question and argument: research question, why did modern states emerge, answers, through war, rulers sought to expand and stabilize their power through war, centralizing power. Legitimacy [ and exclusivity] of violence not particularly clear yet. States relied on privateers: wars are difficult to fight, depend on local powers. State making: because they needed cash, raising money, wars are expensive, build a mercantilist economy, making state more powerful, positive balance of trade. Zero-sum: borrow money, political debt, extracting taxes, historically for fighting wars, requires creation of a state apparatus, as a protection racket, protection from local and external violence, by accident. Four forms of state violence: war-making, fighting external enemies, state making, wiping out internal competing sources of political authority, protection, wiping out competitors for internal clients/classes, extraction, compelling population to pay taxes.