Mark Whitehead, Rhys Jones And Martin Jones, The Nature Of The State

摘要

The authors of The nature of the state claim that historians and historical geographers have rarely studied the state and nature in tandem. Instead, they assert, studies of state formation have been conducted in relative isolation from studies of national (or international) environmental history (p. 56). This assertion only holds good if 'nature' is held not to include the many extant studies of state formation that probe issues of land use change, the demarcation of physical landscapes, struggles over territory between states and their citizens, and so on and so forth. But let's suppose that the authors of The nature of the state are right. What do historical geographers stand to gain by reading their book? Thernanswer depends on what sort of historical geographer one is. However, personal differences notwithstanding, I would suggest that few will find this the sort of 'must read' book that its authors intend it to be.