• 1. Introduction: the shifting boundaries of the State in modern Britain S. J. D. Green and R. C. Whiting; Part I. The State and Political Theory: 2. Political thought and the state Jose Harris; 3. 'Boundaries' in theoretical language about the British state Michael Bentley; 4. The twilight of the British state? Henry Dubb versus sceptered awe David Marquand; 5. Thinking about the state and the economy Robert Skidelsky; Part II. The Economy: 6. The size and scope of the public sector Roger Middleton; 7. The boundaries of taxation R. C. Whiting; 8. Economic knowledge and the state in modern Britain G. C. Peden; Part III. Welfare and Social Policy: 9. The dilemmas of welfare: Titmuss, Murray and Mead Alan Deacon; 10. Medicine and the English state Anne Digby; 11. The English state and educational theory Adrian Wooldridge; Part IV. Conflict and Order: 12. British national identity and the First World War J. M. Winter; 13. A state of siege: the state and political violence Charles Townshend; Part V. Religion and Morality: 14. Survival and autonomy: on the strange fortunes and peculiar legacy of ecclesiastical establishment in the modern British state, c.1920 to the present day S. J. D. Green; 15. Churches, sects and the state Bryan Wilson; 16. The British state and the power of life and death Christie Davies; 17. Conclusion: on the past developments and future prospects of the state in modern Britain S. J. D. Green and R. C. Whiting.

"...this collection remains a valuable summary of issues centering around the scope of central power in modern Britain....The general topic is bound to be a popular one at century's end. Its treatment here is a good start." James B. Christoph