PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · State in Comparative Perspective
What are the distinctive features of the post-modern state in the advanced capitalist economies? Analyse.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
rR! centralised modern state → decentralised, flexible, fragmented order → authority dispersed + reshaped, not removed R2 drivers: globalization + technology + cultural pluralism → state commands less, coordinates more
Body flow
sovereignty erodes (EU, WTO, MNC networks) → Held: cosmopolitan democracy + multilevel governance (authority moves up / out) → Jessop: hollowed-out state, functions outsourced to firms / NGOs / local govt via privatisation-deregulation- PPP (authority moves down) —. identity fragments: Foucault + Butler (race, gender, sexuality) → Fraser: redistribution balanced with recognition → power changes form: Deleuze society of control (surveillance + data as rule) → governance provisional: Bauman liquid modernity (crisis management over long-term planning)
Counter-view
“state retreats / loses relevance under globalization” reading → state persists, reshaped as coordinator
Conclusion routes
arava ®! State = less a central authority, more a mediator among globalization, identity, technology R2 its power survives only by managing actors it can no longer command alone
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
