Abstract
This article addresses the problem of the ambivalent relationship that Global History has en
tertained with the Issue of the state. On the one hand, Global History is critical towards the
“methodological Nationalism”, and therefore tends to devalue also the role of the state, as most
global historians share a certain mistrust for conceptual abstractions and prefer making use of
terms such as politics and government rather than that of state. On the other hand, however,
even for Global History the use of a category like that of Empire is indispensable, and the latter
requires a strong attention to the role played by state institutions in the construction of vast
power systems on a global scale.