Bourdieu's Theory of the State

This book critically examines Pierre Bourdieu's theory of the state by assessing its theoretical and empirical value. Steven Loyal expertly situates Bourdieu's work within the context of both classical and modern theories of the state, providing a comprehensive frame of reference. Finally, Loyal discusses Bourdieu's theoretical limitations and projects how his theory of the state might be utilized in the future.

“Well-researched and freshly-written, this book should become the key critical source for discussions of Pierre Bourdieu’s political writings. In particular, Loyal’s mature reflections on the most crucial debates about the State in political sociology and Marxism have been put to the service of a magisterial appreciation and critique of Bourdieu’s posthumous work, On the State (2014).” (Bridget Fowler, Professor of Sociology, University of Glasgow, Scotland)

“Loyal offers us a stimulating and cogent account of Bourdieu's theory of the state, the best one to date. His method of contrasting Bourdieu with other theorists enables him to clearly identify Bourdieu's strengths and weaknesses. Unafraid of criticizing Bourdieu, this book provides an original contribution to sociological theories of the state.” (Michael Mann, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA)

“This is the best kind of introduction to its topic. Loyal relates Bourdieu’ssociological account of the state to other such accounts, classical and contemporary; he lucidly expounds its central claims, cutting through Bourdieu’s own overelaborate formulations; and he indicates some serious limitations while revealing, nonetheless, what important and original insights can be gained from pursuing Bourdieu’s focus on the cultural and symbolic power of states to create social reality by imposing categories and classifications.” (Steven Lukes, Professor of Sociology. New York University, USA)

“Loyal supplies a much-needed and highly intelligent exposition and critique of Pierre Bourdieu’s complex – often over-complex – thinking about states and state formation. He shows its relationship to the sociological classics – Marx, Weber, Durkheim – but also penetratingly weighs its merits against more recent writers on the subject, including Tilly, Mann, and (perhaps especially) Norbert Elias. Bourdieu’s On the State lectures emerge as an important but alsodeeply flawed contribution to the subject.”  (Stephen Mennell, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University College Dublin, Ireland)

Steven Loyal is Associate Professor at the School of Sociology at University College Dublin, Ireland. His areas of interest include sociological theory, migration, the sociology of knowledge, social stratification, and historical sociology.