Pages: 17-28

The state origins are the perpetual issue in social studies. The contemporary concepts of the state formation differ in multiple ways from the classical theories. State was a result of two interrelated processes — consolidation of society (integrative or functionalist theory) and regulation of structural clash in society (conflict theory). Presently, there are several most popular theories revealing the different ways of the state origin. In this paper, we will discuss several crucial topics, such as foundation of statehood, archaeological features of state, early state, early urbanization, multilinear evolution.

Keywords: state, state origins, politogenesis, chiefdom, early state, heterarchy, social evolution

Information about author:

Nikolay Kradin (Vladivostok, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690950, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]