1. Introduction.- Part I: From the City State to the Roman Empire: 2. From the Origins to the Polis.- 3. The Roman Political Model: From Res Publica to Imperium.- 4. From Territorial Power to Spiritual Rule: Christianity's Political Dimension.- Part II: The Origins of the European "Nations": 5. From the Germanic Tribes to Kingdoms.- 6. Popes vs. Emperors: The Rise and Fall of Papal Power.- 7. From Public to Private Power: Europe in the Feudal Age.- Part III: The Origin of the "European States": 8. From Kings to Monarchs: The Resurgence of Public Power in Late Medieval Europe.- 9 The Apogee of Royal Power: Absolute Monarchy (The 16th and 17th Centuries).- 10. From the Conservative King to the Reformist Monarch: The Stage of Enlightened Absolutism (18th Century).- 11. From Absolute to Limited Monarchy: The British Origins of Parliamentary Government.- Part IV: The Rise of the Nation-State: 12. From Monarchy to Representative Government: The American "Revolution".- 13. From Absolute Monarchy to Democratic Absolutism: The French Revolution.- 14. The Return of the Monarchial Principle (I): The Origins of North American Presidentialism.- 15. The Return of the Monarchial Principal (II): The French State: From Imperial Bonapartism to Republican Presidentialism.- 16. The Golden Era of Liberalism and the Apogee of the Nation-State.- 17. The Triumph of the State over the Nation: From Totalitarianism to Interventionism.- Part V: The End of the Nation-State?: 18. The Crisis of the Nation-State in the Era of European Integration.