State, Territoriality & Ordering
Polity
A polity is defined as a structured political community or political unit created by a group of people sharing a collective identity, organized through institutionalized social relations. Examples include nations, cities, churches, and corporate boards. The state is a primary subject of international law, possessing rights, obligations, and the capacity to engage in international relations.
What Constitutes a State?
Elements that define a state, illustrated using Wales:
Flag: Represented by the Welsh flag, a symbol of identity and unity.
Anthem: "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" serves as the Welsh national anthem, fostering cultural pride and solidarity.
Catalogue of Official Names
Examples of official state names, reflecting diverse political structures:
United States of America
Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Canada
Republic of Poland
State of Eritrea
Potentially, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), though its state status is highly contested due to lack of universal recognition and adherence to international laws.
Definition of a State
A state is defined as:
A socio-spatial organization, embodying both a physical entity (territory) and a legal-political abstraction (sovereignty).
Max Weber's definition: A human community successfully claiming a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
A political community operating under a government equipped with a coercive apparatus to enforce laws and maintain order.
A political organization with sovereignty over a defined geographic area, free from external control, enabling autonomous governance.
Emphasis is placed on the degree of centrality, established procedures, functional institutions, and engagement in international relations (IR).
Key Considerations About States
Identification of a state is independent of its size, form of government, or specific public goods delivery.
The state differs from a country and a nation; a state is a political entity, whereas a nation is a cultural or ethnic group.
Definitions rely on interrelated components: territory, jurisdiction, sovereignty, and recognition by other states and international organizations.
State Examples and Political Systems
Examples:
Russian Federation v. Vatican City (illustrates diverse scales and forms of states)
India v. Vatican City (contrasts a large, diverse nation-state with a small, religiously significant sovereign entity)
Transcontinental/intercontinental states (e.g., Russia and Turkey, spanning multiple continents, impacting geopolitical influence)
State Structures:
Unitary states (centralized power, e.g., France)
Federations (division of power, e.g., United States)
Confederal association of states (political integration with retained sovereignty, e.g., historical examples like the Swiss Confederation)
Political Systems:
Democracy (rule by the people, e.g., Canada)
Authoritarianism (centralized control, e.g., China)
Totalitarianism (absolute control over all aspects of life, e.g., North Korea)
Delivery of Public Goods:
Night-watchman state (minimal services, focusing on security and property rights)
Welfare state (extensive social services and economic intervention)
Country vs. State
Country:
Colloquially used interchangeably with "state."
A spatial area distinguished by shared cultural-political identity, including people, political identity, culture, language, geography, etc.
Overlapping coverage, e.g., The United Kingdom: “many countries within a country” (elsewhere – states, provinces, lands, cantons, emirates, etc.).
Nation
Nation:
A group of people sharing a sense of common identity, seeing themselves as linked by a common heritage, language, religion, or political ambition.
Administrative boundaries may or may not align.
Poland as an Example
Poland and the Polish nation illustrate the concept of a nation-state, where the political boundaries coincide with a distinct national identity.
Nation-State and Related Concepts
Nation:
A group of people sharing a sense of common identity - linked by common heritage, language, religion, or political ambition.
Administrative boundaries may or may not exist.
Nation-state (a state whose citizens share a common national identity).
Political nationalism (ideology promoting the interests of a particular nation).
Multinational states (states with multiple distinct national groups, e.g., Switzerland), divided nations (nations split across multiple states, e.g., Korea), stateless nations (nations without their own state, e.g., Kurds).
Regional instability & right to self-determination of nations (source of conflicts and movements for independence).
United Kingdom and Independence
The United Kingdom has been a source of independence for many countries around the world.
Examples of countries that gained independence from the UK:
United States (1776)
Canada (1931)
Ireland (1916)
And many others throughout the 20th century, reflecting the decline of the British Empire and the rise of self-determination.
Territory
Territory:
A bounded portion of space under jurisdiction – defined and controlled space (power!).
Land belonging to the ruler, land under their jurisdiction.
Defined – implies power.
Originates from medieval cities.
Spans horizontally & vertically, forming the physical basis of state power.
Maritime Zones
Maritime zones defined include:
Internal waters (under complete sovereignty)
Territorial Sea (12 nautical miles, with rights of passage)
Contiguous Zone (24 nautical miles, for enforcing laws)
Exclusive Economic Zone (200 nautical miles, for resource management)
Continental Shelf (for seabed resources)
The High Seas (open to all nations)
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction:
Official power or right to exercise authority, to legislate and enact justice to control the specific geographical space or particular subject matter.
Latin ‘juris-dicere’ – to declare the law; ‘juris-dare’ – to make the law.
Territorial jurisdiction (authority within defined boundaries).
IR: territorial principle v. territorial extension and extraterritorial application of law (debates over sovereignty and legal reach).
Sovereignty
Sovereignty:
Supreme and exclusive authority of a state to govern itself.
The highest, most absolute and perpetual power.
A form of legal personhood, granting rights and responsibilities under international law.
Jean Bodin: indivisible “the idea that there is a final and absolute political authority in the political community … and no final and absolute authority exists elsewhere” (Hinsley, 1986).
External vs. Internal Sovereignty
External sovereignty:
Relations with other polities.
Supreme authority and full control over its territory, population, and institutions without external interference.
Equality of all sovereign states, self-determination and non-interference (principles of international law).
Pooling sovereignty (voluntary cooperation and integration, e.g., European Union).
Internal sovereignty:
Relations within the sovereign entity.
Supreme authority over all residents, their organizations & other subjects.
Independence from its subjects and shaping social relations (ability to enforce laws and policies).
Evolution of Sovereignty
Roman Empire (early forms of centralized authority)
Medieval Europe - kings and queens as sovereigns, based on personal relations (feudal system)
Peace of Westphalia, 1648 - territory and sovereignty - traditional Westphalian sovereign territorial state- Ruler’s sole authority within exclusive territory
Violation: external interference & insurgency (challenges to sovereignty)
Royal → popular sovereignty (shift from monarchical to democratic rule)
Markers of Sovereignty
Exclusive legislative powers (authority to make laws).
Not bound by own laws (in some historical or theoretical contexts).
Monopoly on coercive measures (control of the military and police).
Based on who holds sovereignty: Monarchy, Aristocracy, Democracy (different forms of government).
Peace of Westphalia and its Significance
Gerard ter Borch: The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster, 1948.- Marking point.
Parceling out Europe & ‘exporting’ the state (establishment of the modern state system).
All-powerful states (sovereign entities).
Decolonization (breakdown of colonial empires).
Inter-state system (framework of interactions between states).
Illusion of a stable political map (ongoing changes and conflicts).
Montevideo Convention (1933)
Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933).- Codification.
Part of customary international law (widely accepted principles).
Standard legal definition of a state.
Article I: The State as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications:
a) a permanent population;
b) a defined territory;
c) government; and
d) capacity to enter into relations with the other States.
Recognition
Recognition:
Dual meaning of capacity: efficiency v. reciprocity (ability to fulfill obligations and mutual acknowledgment).
Self-declaration (assertion of statehood).
Necessary qualification to be a state (acceptance by the international community).
Granting/withholding (political act with consequences).
Universal recognition reflected in UN membership (a benchmark of international acceptance).
195 sovereign states recognized by the UN.
193 UN Members.
2 Non-Member Observer States: Holy See, State of Palestine.
States with Limited Recognition
States with limited recognition:
e.g., Taiwan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, Transnistria (examples of entities lacking full international recognition).
Associated state - limit its sovereignty in a form of free association.
e.g., The Cook Islands and Niue (NZ - "self-government in free association"); The Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau (USA - Compact of Free Association) (examples of states with special relationships).
Commonwealth realms (former dominions) – symbolically limited external sovereignty (historical ties to the British Crown).
Other State Classifications
Beyond that…
Banana republic (politically unstable state with a corrupt government)
Failed state (state unable to perform basic functions)
Fragile state (state at risk of instability)
Fragile States Index (tool for assessing state vulnerability)
Non-Sovereign Territories
Non-sovereign territories… sanitized formulations for the reality of colonialism.
Fiefdoms (historical feudal territories)
Colonies (territories under foreign control)
Overseas territories subject to the metropolis (e.g., French Guiana)
Protectorates (territories under the protection of another state)
Dominions (self-governing territories within the British Empire)
League of Nations mandates (territories administered after World War I)
United Nations trust territories (territories under UN supervision)
Condominia (territories jointly governed by multiple states)
Exclaves and Enclaves
Exclaves & enclaves
Exclave – portion of state geographically separated from its main part by some other state or states, e.g., Spanish Llívia.
Enclave – territory of a state located entirely inside of another single state (land-locked), e.g., Llívia, Vatican City, San Marino, Lesotho.
Semi-Enclaves and Semi-Exclaves
Semi-enclave or semi-exclave – if territory has access to a sea- Alaska - semi-exclave & semi-enclave
Kaliningrad Oblast – semi-exclave
Gambia – semi-enclave
Land Under Territorial Claims
Beyond that…
Land under competing territorial claims (disputed territories)
Terra nullius (nobody's land) (territory not under the sovereignty of any state)
Special status of international territory (e.g., Antarctica)