Abstract:

This article introduces a recently published work of Pierre Bourdieu on the state, Sur l'État, based on his lectures delivered in the Collège de France between 1989 and 1992. We intend to present the outlines of this work which not only necessitates its contextualization in the scientific production of Bourdieu through a cross-referenced interpretation with his other studies, but also the revision of the works referred by him. In his lectures, regarding the formation process of the state, in addition to the role of monopoly of violence (physical capital), he accentuates the determinative role of symbolic power which appears after institutional differentiation. The influence of the symbolic power, even of the state, sheds light not only onto the bureaucratic field, but also onto details of the social world. Bourdieu created his widely known theoretical tools of habitus and field in his socio analysis because of this reason. Hence, distinct from ordinary normative and philosophical approaches, probable contributions of anthropological viewpoints to political science are presented here.

Keywords: