The State in the Third Millennium

Prince Hans-Adam II assumed the regency of Liechtenstein in 1989, following the death of his father. Liechtenstein acceded to the United Nations Organization in 1990 and to the European Economic Area in 1995. Prince Hans-Adam is a trained economist who studied at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He has wide-ranging interests in the worlds of commerce and international affairs.

What should the state look like in the third millennium? This is the question addressed in this book by Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, drawing on two decades of experience as ruler of a constitutional monarchy.Many might be astonished that the monarch of a tiny principality should presume to advise the rest of the world on such a subject. Nonetheless, Prince Hans-Adam believes that much can be learned from the experience of Liechtenstein's direct democracy, and from the new model which he has tried to implement there. Over the centuries the Prince's family has seen states and empires come and go, typically bringing much suffering and destruction. Starting from the assumption that a state and its ruler should serve the people, he believes it is time to abandon outdated state models, which were developed by and for agrarian societies.Most of the reforms discussed here have actually been realized in Liechtenstein, with the support of either the parliament or the people, in the popular votes which are a feature of Liechtenstein's democracy. Though such a state model might not be adequate for larger states, the Prince argues that the model he proposes is not dependent on state size. Instead, the governing principles for the state of the future are that the state should serve the people, and not vice versa; that democracy, not ideology, should determine the actions of the state and its rulers; and that self-determination is more important than the inviolability of existing borders.Drawing on both his study of the origins of the state and democracy, and his experience as ruler, the Prince sets out here his unique and personal vision of the state of the third millennium, and the strategies by which it might be achieved.

What should the state look like in the third millennium? That is the question addressed in this book by Hans-Adam II, The Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, drawing on two decades of experience as ruler of a constitutional monarchy.

Prince Hans-Adam is able to look at the modern nation-state from many different angles: as a head of state, as a politician, who had to win popular votes in a direct democracy, as a businessman active in different continents, and as an historian who has studied the influence of military technology, transportation, and the economy on the workings of the state.

The State in the Third Millennium analyzes the forces that have shaped human history in the past and are likely to do so for the foreseeable future. Prince Hans-Adam explores strategies on how to realize worldwide the modern democratic constitutional state in the third millennium. He observes that citizens should no longer be viewed as servants of the state, but rather that states be converted into benevolent service companies which serve the people as their customers.

Prince Hans-Adam's explorations of governance range wide, including his analysis of direct and indirect democracies via the experience of the American Revolution and the Swiss Constitution of 1848. He draws lessons on opportunities for reform derived from his own observations of Liechtenstein's paths to political reform.

This is an elegant, original, and lucidly argued work which will attract all students and observers of modern statecraft.

Analyzes the forces that have shaped human history such as religions, ideologies, military technology and economics. This title explores the ways to make the traditional democratic constitutional state both more democratic and more efficient. It discusses strategies on how to realize the democratic constitutional state in the 3rd millennium.

1;Table of Contents;6
2;Introduction;8
3;1. The right to self-determination - a personal conviction;12
4;2. The origins of the state;24
5;3. The role of religion in the formation of the state;28
6;4. The size of states and the influence of military technology;38
7;5. Monarchy, oligarchy, democracy;52
8;6. The American Revolution and indirect democracy;66
9;7. The Swiss constitution of 1848 and the path to direct democracy;70
10;8. Liechtenstein's constitutional reform of 2003;76
11;9. The deficiencies of traditional democracy;84
12;10. The state of the future;92
12.1;10.1 The constitutional state;98
12.2;10.2 The welfare state;114
12.3;10.3 The education system;124
12.4;10.4 Transportation;128
12.5;10.5 Public finances;134
12.6;10.6 The national currency;142
12.7;10.7 Other state duties;154
13;11. A constitution for the state of the future;158
14;12. Strategies to achieve the state of the future;164
15;13. A perspective on the third millennium;184
16;Appendix: A draft constitution for the state in the third millennium;190
17;Index;210