Culture, religion and social impact on public policy

Peter B. Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol. Reintroducing the state. 1985, Cambridge University Press.
George Steinmetz. State/culture: The creation of a state following the cultural turn. 1-2 Sentence, Cornell University Press, 1999 Culture, religion, and the social impact on public policy are all important for the establishment of a state. For states to thrive, the relationship between nation, culture, and politics must be vital.
What is the author's main point in attempting to answer?
The examination of national and local cultures serves as the foundation for how the cultural turn theoretically influences human understanding of modernizing governments. The author clearly illustrates how power eventually intensifies inside a specific state.
What is the author’s main argument?
The author postulates that empirical studies and profound theoretical essays concerned with nations experiencing administrative modification among the Western nations initiate an understanding of state and culture. Hence, the art of confessionalization, social disciplining, Calvinism, Marxist and Institutionalism models play a critical shape in enhancing state power and formation.

What important concepts and theories are presented?

According to the author, disciplinary revolution, culture, and Calvinism critically enhance powers of states through either extensive or intensive means. To add on that, confessionalization as a theory initiates the creation of nations in two distinct ways: (1) it creates a diverse organizational network that has a well-established moral and aspects of proper socialization in countries, and (2) it establishes national identification.

What relevance does this text have to the other readings for the week, or themes presented in this course?

Culture and the state formation agenda revolves around policy making directed to the masses. Hence, politics, culture, and religion seem to act as antagonizing subjects that portray how states of the world are united coherently.

Does the author discuss an explicit methodology to answer their questions? If so, what?

It is pointed out clearly that confessionalization as an approach facilitates the creation of the micro-political bases, cultural as well as religious grounds. Therefore, this specifically forms the focus on the intensification of state powers during state formation.

Does the author effectively convey their argument? What are the weaknesses of the article/chapter? What are its strenghts?

As stated in the author's article, formation of the state regarding particular theories correlates with the historical nature on how state powers become intensified. However, the historical and the untimely character of the article make state-formation in modern times irrelevant. At the same time, it is possible to learn on how states acquired power. Also, understanding on culture, Marxism, Calvinism, and conceptualization become openly highlighted in depth.

Identify two questions for a class discussion.

The questions for classroom brainstorming include; (1) can religion, culture, and politics be principally and separately treated when describing state formation in the world, and (2) are there any concepts and theories suitable for overseeing and depicting the world's unity concerning state formation and governance.