Introduction to Comparative Politics: What is a State?

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering political science concepts including state definitions, nations, nation-states, non-state actors, state failure, and key theoretical perspectives by Max Weber, Douglas North, and Charles Tilly.

State (Weber's Definition)

A human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.

Nation

A collective defined by a necessary common identity—such as culture, language, history, traditions, and sometimes religion—for which a defined territory is not necessary.

Nation-State

A political unit that possesses both a defined territory and a shared national identity among its population.

The Roma

An ethnic nation characterized by a shared history, distinct culture, traditions, and the Romani language, but living across many states without a defined territory or a Romani state.

Multinational State

A state with a defined territory that encompasses multiple national identities without a single shared culture or language, such as Canada with Indigenous nations, French Canadians, and English Canadians.

State-Authorized Non-State Actors

Non-state entities that receive legitimate authorization from the state to use physical force, including licensed private security firms, police auxiliaries or militias incorporated into state command, and UN peacekeepers.

State (Douglas North's Definition)

An organization with a comparative advantage in violence, extending over a geographic area whose boundaries are determined by its power to tax constituents.

State (Charles Tilly's Definition)

Relatively centralized, differentiated organizations whose officials more or less successfully claim control over the chief concentrated means of violence within a population inhabiting a large, contiguous territory.

Failed State

A state-like entity that cannot coerce and is unable to successfully control the inhabitants of a given territory, having lost effective control over violence, taxation, and territory.

Haiti (as a Failed State)

A state that has experienced a collapse of basic services, loss of effective control over territory and taxation, and domination by armed gangs, leading citizens to flee the country.