Abstract
Max Weber defined the state as an organization which successfully maintained the monopoly of legitimate violence over certain territory. This definition, simple as it is, raises several problems. Firstly, it should be noted that it is at best the definition of the modern State. There have been organizations which are, perhaps anachronistically, called states by historians or anthropologists, but which did not satisfy the definition.
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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Lagerspetz, E. (1995). The Role of Force. In: The Opposite Mirrors. Law and Philosophy Library, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3409-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3409-7_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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