What did Shakespeare mean when he wrote that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”?  Why do we call independent countries “states” endowed with “sovereignty”?  Why do historians and philosophers speak of “state formation” and clashes between “church and state”?  How did these concepts come about, and what do they mean in international law and political theory?  The answer runs from absolutist royal courts through the French Revolution and the Weimar republic of Germany; after centuries of struggle and democratization, the concept of “the state” has formed to fill the vacuum left behind by the Crown.

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Image:  Christiansborg, the parliamentary palace of Denmark.

Recent NPR segment in which I am quoted – https://www.npr.org/2021/01/26/960631333/covid-19-deaths-draw-comparisons-to-other-tragic-death-tolls

Introductory episode of “God Save America,” on religion in the US – https://soundcloud.com/godsaveamerica/0-introduction

Myth of the Month 15:  "The State"

History lectures by Samuel Biagetti, a historian (and antique dealer) with a Phd in early American history; my dissertation was on Freemasonry in the 1700s. I focus on the historical myths and distortions, from "the Middle Ages" to "Race," that people use to rationalize the world in which we live.   More info at www.historiansplaining.com

Please see my Patreon page, https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632, if you want to keep the lectures coming, and to hear the patron-only materials.

Myth of the Month 15: "The State"

Historiansplaining