Chapter 3: The Modern State - Power & Choice

Flashcards covering key political science concepts from Chapter 3: The Modern State, including nation-states, sovereignty, public goods, and state development.

What is a modern State as defined in the context of power and territory?

A legal entity that gives government the monopoly to organize and use power within its boundaries.

What is a nation-state and what three elements must it possess?

A sovereign state whose citizens or subjects are relatively homogenous in factors such as language or common descent. It must have: shared national identity, physical borders, and a single government.

Which 1648 treaty signed after the Thirty Years War contributed to the development of the modern state?

The Treaty of Westphalia 1648.

Which two European entities exemplified the modern state that emerged in the early 19th century?

Prussia (consisting of Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia) and France under Napoleon.

How did Max Weber (1864 – 1920) define the modern State?

An entity that has a monopoly over violence or use of force within a specific geographic area.

How do Marx and Marxists explain the existence and maintenance of the state?

They argue that capitalists need to establish and maintain the state to keep workers under control partly by repression by the police and partly by convincing them (through school and other means) that being dominated by the capitalist is good.

What are public goods and how are they funded?

Commodities or services made available to all members of society, administered by the government and paid for collectively through taxation. If available to any, they are impossible to deny to any member of the group.

What are externalities in the context of government decisions?

Costs or benefits caused by a producer/state that affects third parties.

What is a multi-state nation, and what examples are given in the text?

An ethnic group spread across multiple states, with its cultural identity being prevalent in each country/state, such as the Korean nation (split into North and South Korea) and the Kurdish nation (stretching across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan).

What is a multi-national state, and what examples are provided?

A sovereign entity that comprises two or more nations or states, such as China, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Canada.

What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism regarding allegiance?

Patriotism is allegiance to the state (devotion to and vigorous support for one's country), while nationalism is allegiance to the nation (identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of other nations).

What is civil society?

Society considered as a community of citizens linked by common interest and collective activity, usually an aggregate of non-governmental organizations, institutions, and/or individuals independent of the government.

What characterizes a failed state?

A state that has lost its effective ability to govern its population; while maintaining legal sovereignty, it experiences a breakdown in political power, law enforcement, and civil society, leading to near anarchy and collapse.

What criteria define a micro-state?

A state with an area of less than 500 sq. miles and a population of under 100,000.

What is state-building?

Creating and strengthening the institutions necessary to support long-term economic, social, and political development.