1. What is capitalism for Karl Marx? Explain the relationship between economy and other social institutions.What are the main social classes in a capitalist society and their defining characteristics?
2. What is capitalism for Max Weber? Explain it. What are the two main axes through which power is distributed in society according to Weber?
3. What does social closure mean? What is the relationship between social enclosure and status group formation? Explain it with an example.
4. What is the main characteristic of modern society for Durkheim? What is the main change that characterizes modernity?
5. Benedict Anderson says that nation is an “imagined community”. What does this mean? How did nations emerge as imagined communities (hint: consider the rise of capitalism)
6. What is the definition of state according to Weber? Explain it clearly with examples
7. According to Weber, what are the three types of authority that states use? Explain them.
8. According to Marxists, why does the state serve the interests of the bourgeoisie? Then discuss the concept of the “Relative Autonomy of the State” in explaining why the state sometimes functions positively for the proletariat.
9. Charles Tilly says that it is not that “states make war” but “wars make states”. What does this mean? Explain what “state as organized crime” means.
10. How has nation state become the main state form over five hundred years? Explain this considering Charles Tilly’s theory.
11. What are the four functions of state according to Charles Tilly? Explain them.
12. What is the main cause of the emergence of citizenship according to Brubaker?
13. According to Giovanni Arrighi, why shall we see financial expansion as an indicator of hegemonic change? Explain this considering his theory for the long history of capitalism.
14. What is the difference between imperialism and colonialism?
15. Explain five different approaches that explain state in original Marxist writings.