11.  Mohamed Ali had both established the last of the numerous alien dynasties to rule Egypt and begun to lay the groundwork for a modern state on European lines.

12.  The making of a modern state provided new opportunities for peasants with some education to move into lower-middle-class occupations.

13.  Both his strength and potential vulnerabilities stem from his origins in the Alawite clan, around which his father constructed the modern Syrian state.

14.  Abroad, she is seen as a modern partner who tried to help turn the old Soviet Union into a modern Russian state.

15.  Afghanistan, however, hardly functions as a modern state.

16.  But Bergamini remains tranquil in his mission, convinced that Italy should break with its former culture and become a truly modern state with the euro as its currency.

17.  But his authoritarianism has done much to keep his nation from becoming a modern European state.

18.  But King Mohammed has set himself the challenge of creating a modern state while maintaining the feudal veneer.

19.  Dispensationalism argues that the founding of the modern state of Israel is a sign that the End Days are near.

20.  Fifty years later, Israel celebrates its anniversary as a modern political state.