Divine Sovereignty: The Origins of Modern State Power. By Daniel Engster. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2001. 272p. $42.00

Extract

The state has always held a sort of fascination for political theorists, despite the fact that consensus and clarity regarding some of its central elements, both historical and conceptual, have always eluded us. Daniel Engster has provided an intriguing look at each of these two problems: the historical development of modern state theory, and the basic conceptual building blocks of state legitimacy (legislative sovereignty, executive prerogative, regulatory powers, and rationalistic rule). With an eye toward an improved understanding of how the state, and more specifically state theory, developed, Engster revisits a number of early modern French and English theorists and actors. Such an understanding, he suggests, will shed light on “the contemporary crisis of the state” and help us “recognize some of the necessary steps for reforming and restoring legitimacy to contemporary politics” (p. 12).