The Founding of Modern States is a bold comparative work that examines the rise of the modern state through six case studies of state formation. The book opens with an analysis of three foundings that gave rise to democratic states in Britain, the United States, and France and concludes with an evaluation of three formations that birthed non-democratic states in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Through a comparative analysis of these governments, the book argues that new state formations are defined by a metaphysical conception of a “will of the people” through which the new state is ritually granted sovereignty. The book stresses the paradoxical nature of modern foundings, characterized by “mythological imaginations,” or the symbolic acts and rituals upon which a state is enabled to secure political and social order. An extensive study of some of the most important events in modern history, this book offers readers novel interpretations that will disrupt common narratives about modern states and the state of our modern world.

Finalist, 2023 Edwards Book Award, Rodel Institute

‘This magnificent study of political beginnings, democratic and not, is a stunning work of analytical history and political theory. By illuminating the charged and often contradictory dimensions of popular sovereignty and elite leadership, legitimacy and belonging, social purpose and institutional invention, ideology and consent, governing rules and state capacity, sovereign decisions and regime limits, The Founding of Modern States profoundly reshapes understanding.'

Ira I. Katznelson - Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University

‘In this magisterial work, Richard Bensel demonstrates how the founding of modern states, whether putatively democratic or non-democratic, inescapably involves mythologizing political identities and authority in order to craft senses of common purpose to guide governing institutions. His analysis generates a wealth of sobering insights into the sources of our enduring political challenges.'

Rogers M. Smith - Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

‘In a sweeping analysis of the originary moments of modern states, Richard Bensel unpacks the dilemma of sovereignty, showing how necessary founding rituals manage the thorny simultaneity of membership, leadership and rules. Spanning four centuries and three continents while linking political philosophy to institutions as no other scholar quite could, Bensel teaches us that even democracies are birthed from moments that are non-democratic.'

Daniel Carpenter - Professor of Government, Harvard University