Sovereign city: the city-state through history
In: Globalities
Sovereign city examines the nature of the city-state's changing role and traces the evolution of the city as a political entity from ancient times, when it flourished, to the present day, when it is of much diminished importance. Geoffrey Parker examines the city-state as a geopolitical form, as well as its distinctive place within a range of types of states. The rise of the city-state in ancient times is analysed with particular reference to the Greek polis, which Plato and Aristotle considered the perfect type of state.