ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a brief critical discussion of geographical studies on the state, identifying how geographical knowledges are subtly shaped by statist epistemologies, by drawing on previous works that outline our vision for post-statist geographies. It concerns the foundations of the state, considering not only its origins but also its institutional structures and relations. Building on these foundations, the chapter discusses the ontological underpinnings of the state as a colonial and Eurocentric concept, and question the singular notion of the state as one of a diversity of polities that have existed in the past or could exist in the future. It also discusses the contributions of archaeology to understanding the state as a mode of coercion and domination, as well as a focal point of both pre-emptive and ongoing resistance. In concluding, while recognising potential limitations of archaeological scholarship, the chapter explores how these contributions can signal an important non-essentialist shift in geographical understandings of the state.
