For many years, attention in both public and intellectual fields had concentrated on the benefits of civil society. However, with the demand for greater state regulation of the economy and the increasing realization that states of the fourth world will never advance without the enforcement of a rule of law, the tenor of debate is now changing. This topical book offers a historical account of state forms in the twenty-first century. It focuses on what makes states effective, thus offering a different approach to existing literature which has tended to focus on the predatory characteristics of states. The book covers all the major states forms of this century, from the US and EU to India and China, as well as a number of key 'failed' states, such as Iraq and Zimbabwe. Key definitions and terms are clearly explained throughout. Written by a leading figures in the field, addressing one of the key questions in politics today"--Publisher's description