Karl Kautsky on the role of wars in the formation of a state

The article discusses the impact of wars on the formation of states in the works of K. Kautsky and other foreign and Russian researchers of the 19th - 21st centuries. Particular attention is paid to the works of K. Kautsky, who is one of the founders of the military theory of the origin of the state. A comparative analysis of his views with the theoretical views of F. Engels, L. Gumplovich, R. Luxembourg, F. Mehring, G. Plekhanov is carried out. The approaches to this issue of modern scientists (L.E Grinin, R. Carneiro and others) are analyzed. The author notes that some scientists, like K. Kautsky, consider war to be a decisive factor in the creation of a state. Others, on the contrary, believe that the main factors in the formation of a state were the development of the economy, the division of labor, the emergence of property and classes. Modern scientists note other conditions: population growth, tribal ideology, the role of the leader, the production of surpluses, a certain level of political culture, the influence of neighboring states, etc. Still others seek to generalize these approaches and develop a unified theory that takes into account all circumstances of the creation of the state, noting that in some cases the war led to the emergence of powers, while in others other factors were decisive. The author concludes that despite the great contribution of K. Kautsky, his opponents, and modern Russian and foreign scientists to understanding the processes of the emergence of states, the problem still requires further research.