The State: A Research Agenda

Abstract

This essay is intended as an informal introduction to the papers and commentaries on the state contained in this special issue of Environmental and Planning A. It is presented in the form of a research agenda, which itself may provoke further debate on the role of the state in sociospatial processes. Two main themes are identified. The first concerns the form of the capitalist state and its historical evolution. The second addresses the functions of the state apparatus.