For many theorists the problem of the capitalist state is seen to have been exhaustively posed in the 1970s by Miliband, Poulantzas and the state derivationists. Yet more recent years have seen the same issues that underlay these positions fuel a much broader and, in terms of the Marxist tradition, more heretical discussion of the nature of the relationship of state and society. This article traces the way in which this more recent debate has emerged and developed, (giving particular attention to the decisive contribution of Claus Offe), outlines the most important claims that have emerged from it and offers an (interim) evaluation of its success in re-casting the relations of state and society.
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