ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature and dynamics of the state in the less-developed countries across the globe. It examines the origins and development of the state in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East by exploring the historical roots of contemporary postcolonial states that dominate the social formations of these regions across the globe. The changes effected by this interaction yielded different results in different regions and led to alternative paths of development in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The chapter provides a brief overview of the evolution of three of the region's most important states: Egypt, Iraq, and Iran, to understand the nature and dynamics of contemporary Middle Eastern societies. In some regions, such as Latin America and parts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the Oriental despotic state was overrun by European colonialism.
