I. Defining the State

What Is the State?

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

• Political scientists define the state as the organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a territory.

Key concept: Sovereignty

• Sovereignty - the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory independently of external actors and internal rivals.

• A state needs to be able to act as the primary authority over its territory and the people who live there, passing and enforcing laws, defining and protecting rights, resolving disputes between people and organizations, and generating domestic security.

  • A state needs power, typically physical power, to defend its territory from outside actors such as other states.

  • The risk: its rivals will interfere with its authority, inflicting damage, taking its territory, or destroying the state outright.

  • A state must be armed

    • Armies and police forces

    • The word police comes from an old French word meaning “to govern.”

The State Defined

• The State is…

  • The organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a given territory.

  • A set of political institutions that generates and carries out policy.

  • Typically high institutionalized.

  • Sovereign.

  • Characterized by such institutions such as an army, a police force, taxation, a judiciary, and a social welfare system.

State Authority

• Regime: fundamental rules and norms of politics that shape

  • Long-term goals regarding individual freedom and equality

  • Where power should reside, and

  • Use of that power.

• A Regime is…

  • The norms and rules regarding individual freedom and collective equality, the locus of power, and the use of that power.

  • Institutionalized, but can be changed by dramatic social events such as revolutions.

  • Categorized at the most basic level as either democratic or non-democratic.

  • Often embodied in a constitution.

Types of Regimes

• Democratic

  • Some examples

    • Constitutional monarchies

    • Republics

    • Consociational democracies

• Non-democratic

  • Some examples

    • Personalistic dictatorships - rule because of the personality of the leader

    • Military rule - military generals have supreme power and gain power by means of military and force

    • One-party - only one party forms the government and no other parties are allowed to run candidates for election

Comparing Regime Changes

• Most revolutions tend to be revolts against the regime, as opposed to the state

• France

  • Multiple regimes since the 1789 revolution

  • Some regimes were more institutionalized than others; current regime places power in hands of executive

• South Africa

  • Racist, apartheid regime for the first part of twentieth century

  • Created a new constitution in 1996, extending civil rights to all South Africans; however, these changes are not always honored

• Russia

  • Failed coup in Soviet Union in 1991 ended communist regime

  • Many communist-era political norms have stayed, despite regime change

Government

• Government: leadership or elite in charge of running the state

• Government may consist of:

• Elected officials

  • Such as legislators, presidents or prime ministers

• Or, nonelected officials, who came to power either through

  • Force or other nondemocratic means

• Tend to be weakly institutionalized

Comparing Institutionalization

• Ranked from Less institutionalized → More institutionalized

  • Government

  • Regime

  • State

II. The Origins of Political Organization

Early Political Organization

• As long as there have been humans, there has been some form of organization

• Around 10,000 years ago, agriculture, animal domestication, and sedentary communities arose in the Middle East, allowing for increased political organization.

• Around 4000 B.C.E., large cities began to emerge

  • Questions of equality, liberty, and property began to arise

• The sequence in the development of urbanization and state building remains unclear in this account.

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: People are inherently good. If left to themselves, unregulated, they will create peaceful communities. In contrast, governments are inherently destructive.

• Thomas Hobbes: People are inherently bad. If left to themselves, unregulated, they will destroy everything. Governments are inherently necessary to keep the peace.

• John Locke: People are inherently good, but they have a difficult time resolving disputes. Governments emerge to help improve the individual condition.

In Focus: Two Paths of Political Organization

• Consensus: Individuals band together to protect themselves and create common rules; leadership chosen from among the people. Security through cooperation. → Democratic Rule

• Coercion: Individuals are brought together by a ruler, who imposes authority and monopolizes power. Security through domination. → Authoritarian Rule

III. The Rise of the Modern State

Why Did the Modern State Emerge in Europe?

• Violence and anarchy → organizational evolution

• Geographic location → exposure to new ideas

• Religious conflict → sovereignty

  • Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)

  • Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia

• Main elements

  • Kings recognize each other.

  • Authority is bound by territory. (sovereignty)

• Some consequences

  • Kings get all revenues from their territory.

    • Greater incentive to regulate and promote the economy (Professional military & taxation)

  • Begins to consolidate major European powers

    • In 1500, over 1000 independent political units existed in Europe.

    • Now, there are roughly 30.

Why the Modern World Is a World of States

• When compared to other forms of political organizations, states do a better job

  • Promoting economic development,

  • Encouraging technological innovation, and

  • Creating domestic stability by encouraging interaction and the emergence of shared identity (nationalism)

• The state created imperialism, and imperialism spread the state.

IV. Comparing State Power

How Do Rulers Stay in Power?

• They may use

  • Fear: punish dissent.

  • Rewards: bribe supporters.

  • Legitimacy: a value whereby an institution is accepted by the public as right and proper, thus giving it authority and power.

• Without legitimacy, states rely on coercion to retain power.

• With legitimacy, states rely on consent to retain power

• Legitimate states are more stable.

Traditional Legitimacy

• Built by habit and custom

• Institutionalization level is strong.

• Examples

  • British monarchy

  • Saudi royal family

Charismatic Legitimacy

• Built by the force of ideas and the presence of a leader

• Institutionalization level is weak.

• Examples

  • Putin’s Russia

  • Nelson Mandela (post-apartheid South Africa)

Rational-Legal Legitimacy

• Built by rules and procedures; the offices creating and enforcing the rules.

• Institutionalization level is strong.

• Examples

  • U.S. president

  • British prime minister

Three Types of Legitimacy

Power Dispersion: Centralization versus Decentralization

• States have different distributions of power.

• Major differences.

  • Federalism: Significant state powers, such as taxation, lawmaking, and security, are devolved to regional or local bodies.

  • Unitary states: Most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority.

Types of Federalism

• Symmetric federalism: All regions have the same powers.

  • Example: United States

• Asymmetric federalism: Different regions have different powers.

  • Example: Canada

    • Quebec has powers over taxation and healthcare that other provinces lack.

Devolution: It’s NOT Federalism

• Definition: transfer of power and funding from national to local governments

• Goals

  • Move power closer to people (and increase state legitimacy).

  • Resolve ethnic or religious confilcts.

  • Key difference with federalism: less “permanent”

In Comparison: Centralization and Decentralization

• United Kingdom:

  • Unitary state – all political authority is centralized in the national government

  • Recently, there has been an increase in the powers of regional governments, notably Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

• United States:

  • Federal system – some powers lay with the national government, most with state governments

  • Built-in tension between states and national governments

• India:

  • Asymmetric Federal system – Indian states reflect the linguistic and ethno-religious differences in the country

  • States have unequal power amongst one another

State Power: Strong and Weak States

• Why does state strength matter?

• Differences

  • Strong states: states that are able to fulfill basic tasks

  • Weak states: states unable to execute basic tasks

  • Failed states: states so weak that their very basic state structures break down

Fragile States Index: Fund for Peace

• Social Indicators:

  • Demographic Pressure

  • Refugees or internally displaced persons

  • Intervention by external political actors

• Economic indicators:

  • Uneven economic development

  • Poverty/severe economic decline

  • Sustained human flight and brain drain

• Political indicators:

  • Legitimacy

  • Deterioration of public services

  • Rule of law/human right abuse

• Cohesion indicators:

  • Security apparatus

  • Factionalized elite

  • Vengeance-seeking group grievances

Comparing State Power

• Capacity

  • Definition: Ability to wield power to carry out basic tasks

  • Mobilization of resources

• Autonomy

  • Definition: Ability to wield power independently of the public or international actors

  • Relates to sovereignty

Autonomy and Capacity

• High Capacity, High Autonomy

  • Strong state

    • State is able to fulfill basic tasks.

    • Minimum public intervention.

    • Highly centralized power

  • Disadvantage: may undermine democracy

• High Capacity, Low Autonomy

  • State is able to fulfill basic tasks.

  • Public helps determine policy and limts state power.

  • Disadvantage: Sate may be unable to develo new policies and respond to new challenges.

• Low Capacity, High Autonomy

  • State lacks basic ability to fulfill tasks.

  • State acts with minimum public control.

  • Disadvantage: state is ineffective.

    • Slow development

    • Public unrest

• Low Capacity, Low Autonomy

  • Weak state

    • State lacks the basic ability to fulfill tasks.

    • State is subject to direct public control and interference.

    • Power is highly decentralized among state and nonstate actors.

  • Disadvantage: risk of internal state failure

High versus Low Autonomy and Capacity

Autonomy and Capacity: Country Examples

V. In Sum: Studying States

• The state is a highly institutionalized political organization possessing sovereignty. Power in the state is shaped by regimes and governments.

• The modern state evolved in the highly competitive, anarchic system of Europe.

• States rely on different types of legitimacy to maintain stability.

• States differ in how power is dispersed between the national and regional governments.

• The “strength” or “weakness” of a state is better measured by considering the state’s capacity and autonomy.

Key Terms

1. State - the organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a given territory; a set of political institutions to generate and execute policy regarding freedom and equality

2. Sovereignty - the ability to carry out actions and policies within a territory independent of external actors and internal rivals

3. Regime - the fundamental rules and norms of politics, embodying long-term goals regarding individual freedom and collective equality, where power should reside, and the use of that power

4. Government - the leadership or elite in charge of running the state

5. Country - term used to refer to state, government, regime, and the people who live within that political system

6. Legitimacy - a value whereby an institution is accepted by the public as right and proper, thus giving it authority and power

7. Traditional legitimacy - legitimacy that accepts aspects of politics because they have been institutionalized over a long period of time

8. Charismatic legitimacy - legitimacy built on the force of ideas embodied by an individual leader

9. Rational-legal legitimacy - legitimacy based on a system of laws and procedures that are highly institutionalized

10. Federalism - a system in which significant powers are devolved to local bodies

11. Asymmetric federalism - when power is divided unevenly between regional bodies; for example, some regions are given greater power over taxation or language rights than others - a more likely outcome in a country with significant ethnic divisions

12. Unitary state - a state in which most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority

13. Devolution - political power is “sent down” to lower levels of state and local governments

14. Strong state - a state that is able to fulfill basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy

15. Weak state - a state that has difficulty fulfilling basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy

16. Failed state - a state so weak that its political structures collapse, leading to anarchy and violence

17. Capacity - the ability of the state to wield power to carry out basic tasks, such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy

18. Autonomy - the ability of the state to wield its power independently of the public