Rezension: Voigt, Rüdiger (Hrsg.) (2018): Handbuch Staat

Abstract

'Handbuch Staat' is a totally new handbook about the very German concept of "the state". In nearly 180 chapters, each about eleven pages long, it informs about the basic disciplines, theories, structures, concepts, institutions, instruments, policies and international dimensions of the modern state. Nearly all the authors are German and the different contributions usually are written from a specific German point of view, also when addressing international contributions. The handbook explicitly aims to cover possible reforms and the future of the modern state and to emphasize a social science perspective, but in line with the German tradition especially legal perceptions play a prominent role. Not all current debates and concepts are explicitly covered (e.g. regulation, governance, accountability or legitimacy are missing as special chapters), but all in all the handbook gives a very informative and reliable overview of the particular German interpretations of the modern state.