This work constitutes a fully enriched edition compared to its concise form in 2016, and it continues to address not only lawyers but also anyone interested in the state as a timeless phenomenon, that is, as one of the historical forms of organization of human societies.

Central themes analyzed herein include, among others, the epistemology of the state, in terms of its nature, origin, power, and establishment. The second part emphasizes the morphology of the state, with references to critical states and regimes, such as the slave state, the feudal state, and the beginnings and spread of constitutionalism, reaching up to the state of existing socialism.

As a conclusion, the last chapter presents the prospects and future of representative democracy from the author's perspective.