The tragedy of the state. An introduction to the theory of the state and a polycentric society

Abstract

The key questions of the contemporary state and law theory focus on the issue whether the contemporary state so deeply involved in the complex operations of the society still constitutes a separate and autonomous whole, whether it manages the society or is itself managed by operational structures of the society. The social processes presently underway point towards an increasing autonomisation and functional differentiation of social systems. One of the implications of this process is the transformation of modern comprehensive societies into polycentric ones. The rationale behind endowing the State with a special status has crumbled. The State may no longer be perceived as a sovereign subject – the source of power that stands above and beyond the society, whose responsibility is to maintain social order, and that at the same time has enough power to discharge this task. The State has become one of a number of constituent elements of a differentiated whole, primus inter pares at best. This means that modern development must occur through de-centralised contextbased management or a reflective process in which functionally separate systems are controlled indirectly by a changing environment in which they operate, and through the application of system-specific codes and programmes. The architecture of civilisationally advanced societies undergoes the process of change from the domination of hierarchic structures in favour of heterarchic ones.