State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict
The Basics
1) Refers to the processes by which hierarchical systems of rule have been constructed and maintained and to the conflicts generated through those processes.
2) Comparative study of different state forms (kingdoms, empires, nation-states) across time and space, and the interaction among them.
3) Continuity and change are also embedded in this theme through attention to the organizational and cultural foundations of long-term stability vs. internal and external causes of conflict.
4) Examine and compare various forms of state development and expansion in various productive strategies (agrarian, pastoral, mercantile), various cultural and ideological foundations (religion, philosophies, ideas of nationalism, various social and gender structures, and in different environmental contexts.
5) Discusses different types of states, such as autocracies and constitutional democracies
6) Explore interstate relations, including warfare, diplomacy, commercial and cultural exchange, and the formation of international organizations
The Essential Questions
1) Who is in charge?
2) How much power do they have?
3) How is power transferred?
4) Is there a bureaucracy?
5) Who chooses the leader/s?
6) What is the structure (e.g. theocracy, absolutism, democracy, communism)?
7) Are there revolts and revolutions? If so, what was the cause and the effect?
8) Are there significant wars, treaties, courts or laws?
9) Did the political boundaries change over time?
10) Did political power shift over time?