Boundaries of the state in time and space: transitions and tipping points

Abstract

State formation in the pre-Roman Mediterranean has been considered untheorised by many state theorists, particularly anthropologically trained scholars from North America. This paper seeks to show the inherent interest of the Mediterranean by taking a comparative approach to the study of state formation, focused on transitions in time and space. Pre-eminently the situation in first millennium BC pre-Roman Etruria is compared with the New World (e.g., the Valley of Oaxaca) and Mesopotamia. For the transitions in time, the paper investigates the utility of the term tipping point, assessing the need for speed in political transformation to achieve a long-term outcome. For the transitions in space, the paper looks at the relative formality of state boundaries, addressing the questions of fuzziness and permeability. The paper concludes that ‘secondary’ state formation in the Mediterranean has much to contribute, illustrating issues of complexity derived from historical contingencies that were not present in so called primary states.

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