Soldiers and technicians of discipline, not jurists, founded the modern state

Evidence

The Napoleonic régime was not far off and with it the form of state that was to survive it and, we must not forget, the foundations of which were laid not only by jurists, but also by soldiers, not only councillors of state, but also junior officers, not only the men of the courts, but also the men of the camps. The Roman reference that accompanied this formation certainly bears with it this double index: citizens and legionaries, law and manoeuvres. While jurists or philosophers were seeking in the pact a primal model for the construction or reconstruction of the social body, the soldiers and with them the technicians of discipline were elaborating procedures for the individual and collective coercion of bodies. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 253

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that camps and junior officers, not courts and councillors, laid the modern state’s foundations reframes institutional power the way the reader reframes the household: power flows from disciplinary technique, not from law. — connects to: The Absolutist State, not the merchant town, created the modern bourgeoisie — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 177; Armies composed of mercenaries and marginals predate modern states; The army’s reliance on central supply and conscription created Egypt’s modern state (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The army’s reliance on central supply and conscription created Egypt’s modern state #exemplifies (0.85)
• Armies composed of mercenaries and marginals predate modern states #qualifies (0.80)
• State dependence on soldiers’ bodies secured social bargaining power #expands (0.80)
• The Absolutist State, not the merchant town, created the modern bourgeoisie #corroborates (0.75) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 177