How and why should we think beyond the state? In this book, the author attempts to disentangle government from territory and to broaden the juridical imaginary beyond the territorial state. The argument unfolds in three parts: a critique of the government–territory relationship in contemporary state theory; a Kantian reconstruction showing how a government‑based approach to statehood can operate; and a materialist account of why state theory shifted from government to territory, drawing on Marxist and Pashukanian critiques. The book will interest scholars and practitioners who seek to think political community and law beyond the state.
