Second‐Order Condensations of Societal Power Relations: Environmental Politics and the Internationalization of the State from a Neo‐Poulantzian Perspective¹

This article develops an understanding of the internationalization of the state which draws on materialist state theory, regulation theory and the scale debate in radical geography. It introduces the concept of “second‐order condensations of societal relationships of forces” which aims at advancing Poulantzas’ state theoretical approach and applying it to the analysis of international state apparatuses, their functions and their relationship to state apparatuses on other spatial scales. The empirical and political relevance of the theoretical considerations is elucidated with examples from international resource and environmental policy.