The Foundations of Sovereignty and Other Essays

Laskis theory of the state. Originally published: New York: Harcourt Brace and Company 1921. xi 317 pp. This influential study develops aspects of Laskis theory of the state ideas he introduced in his first important publication Authority in the Modern State (1919). According to Laski the state is not a supreme entity; it is one association among many that must compete for the peoples loyalty and obedience. Harold J. Laski [1893-1950] was a teacher political scientist and leader of the Labour Party. His ideas influenced the work of Felix Frankfurter and Oliver Wendell Holmes who were two of his closest friends. His work also influenced Jawaharlal Nehru who would go on to become Indias first prime minister.