In Part III, finally, we examine the trajectory of modern states in order to tease out what explains changes in state strength. In Chapter 8, we apply a historical perspective in order to investigate why some states seem to gain strength while others become weaker. Theories of governance challenge our traditional understanding of what constitutes state strength. Rather than relying on their legal and constitutional capabilities, states in a governance perspective derive their strength more from coordinating public and private resources, broadly defined. Traditional, legal ‘powers over’ are replaced by contextual ‘powers to’ (see Stone, 1989; Gourevitch, 1986). These alternative ways to think about state strength are elaborated in Chapter 9 which is the concluding chapter of the book.