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Andreas Anter reconstructs Max Weber´s theory of the modern state, showing its significance to contemporary political science. He reveals the ambivalence of Weber´s political thought: the oscillation between an étatiste position, mainly oriented to the reason of state, and an individualistic one, focussed on the freedom of individuals

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1. Introduction 2. Aspects of the Concept of the State 3. State and Rulership 4. Hermeneutics of the State 5. Theory of the State and the Doctrine of Value Judgements 6. Archaeology of the Modern State 7. The State as a Machine 8. Concluding Remarks Bibliography

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´Max Weber´s Theory of the Modern State is so good that it ought to be required reading for anyone who is interested in Weber´s political thinking. Anter is right that Weber often approaches his topics with a ´yes but´; regarding the quality of Anter´s book, there is no ´but´ only a ´yes´´. Christopher Adair-Toteff for Theory, Culture & Society

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Andreas Anter is Professor of Political Science at the University of Erfurt, Germany. After his studies in Münster, Freiburg and Hamburg, and his PhD in Hamburg, he taught Political Science at the Universities of Hamburg, Leipzig and Bremen. Subsequently he was editor of Rowohlt Verlag and chief editor of Reclam Verlag Leipzig. He is the author of Die Macht der Ordnung (2nd ed. 2007), Theorien der Macht (2nd ed. 2013) and Staatskonzepte (2013).

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