Few concepts present such a broad field of abstraction, and at the same time, their material substance becomes so immediately and universally tangible in the reality of everyday life, as the concept of state.

The image we have of the state varies or is confused: it starts from its extreme analogy to a supreme power of symbolic and physical strength and enforcement and ends with the angelic representation of a caring subject, whose mission is to safeguard the common good and protect the life, security, well-being, and freedom of its citizens.

At the same time, under the influence of the gradual yet inevitable unified global market economy and the revolution of digital technology, the state itself is forced to transform. It takes on new missions and functions in response to the need to address planetary dimensions of human living issues, such as ecological and energy matters, as well as the need to produce universal values, such as social solidarity, peace, justice, and equal freedom.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]