NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Sovereign states

A state is an organized political community, occupying a territory, and possessing internal and external sovereignty, which successfully claims the monopoly of the use of force. Politics is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ... A territory is a defined area (including land and waters), usually considered to be a possession of an animal, person, organization, or institution. ... ...

It may or may not have an organized government to exist. Several states have had episodes were two or more groups dispute control of the government (i.e. China in 1912) but they never lost their state quality. Thus, a government is not necessary for a state to be a state as long as its existence is recognized by the international community. However, recognition of the state's claim to sovereignty by other states, enables it to enter into international agreements. Moreover, it needs a government to control its internal affairs. ...

Introduction

The word "state" in contemporary parlance often means the Westphalian state, a reference to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, and is used most often in political science. The Ratification of the Treaty of MÃ¼nster by Gerard Terborch (1648) Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of MÃ¼nster by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648 The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the Treaties of MÃ¼nster and OsnabrÃ¼ck, refers to the... // Events January 17 - Englands Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Address, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War. ... Political science is a social science discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ...

Max Weber in "Politics as a vocation" (1918) gave an oft-cited definition of the State in contemporary political theories. According to Weber, "Every state is founded on force [...] If no social institutions existed which knew the use of violence, then the concept of 'state' would at be eliminated, and a condition would emerge that could be designated as 'anarchy,' in the specific sense of this word". Hence, Weber defines the state as "a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory." In this definition he mirrors Hobbes's argument in that, once instituted, the Leviathan will prevent violent death. In that sense, Weber claims, ". The state is considered the sole source of the 'right' to use violence".[1]. Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 â€“ June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern, antipositivistic study of sociology and public administration. ... This article is about the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. ... Frontispiece of Leviathan Leviathan was a book written in 1651 by Thomas Hobbes, is one of the most famous and influential books of political philosophy. ...

Weber's definition is important as he puts forth the notion that the state is the ultimate depositary of power. In that sense, power, as opposed to, for example sovereignty, organization, allocation and other attributes, is the most important concept associated with the state in contemporary political science (see the seminal Peter Evans, Theda Skocpol, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, eds., Bringing the State Back in, Cambridge University Press, 1985)). Look up Power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Power has many meanings, all of which imply control or force. ... Theda Skocpol (born May 4, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan) is a sociologist and political scientist at Harvard University, presently serving as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. ...

Of course, some have taken issue with the power of the state. Errico Malatesta a noted anarchist, wrote that "Anarchists generally make use if the word "State" to mean all the collection of institutions, political, legislative, judicial, military, financial, etc., by means of which management of their own affairs, the guidance of their personal conduct, and the care of ensuring their own safety are taken from the people and confided to certain individuals, and these, whether by usurpation or delegation, are invested with the right to make laws over and for all, and to constrain the public to respect them, making use of the collective force of the community to this end." Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (December 14, 1853 – July 22, 1932) was an anarchist with an unshakable belief, which he shared with his friend Peter Kropotkin, that the anarchist revolution would occur soon. ...

Others criticize other attributes of the modern state. For example, its autonomy or sovereignty. In theory a state is an entity that enjoys extensive autonomy in its domestic economic and social policy, largely free from interference from other states and powers . However, number of modern commentators have claimed that we are experiencing the decline of the Westphalian state as the principal actor of the international system, pointing to economic, cultural, political, and technological changes in the world, such as globalization and the emergence of regional and supernational groupings such as the European Union. (see Kenichi Omahe, The end of the nation state, 1996). Autonomy is the condition of something that does not depend on anything else. ... ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Globalization (or globalisation)refers to the worldwide phenomenon of technological, economic, political and cultural exchanges, brought about by modern communication, transportation and legal infrastructure as well as the political choice to consciously open cross-border links in international trade and finance. ...

Synonyms

Subnational entity is a generic term for an administrative region within a country â€” on an arbitrary level below that of the sovereign state â€” typically with a local government encompassing multiple municipalities, counties, or provinces with a certain degree of autonomy in a varying number of matters. ... For the purposes of Public International Law and Private International Law, a state is a defined group of people, living within defined territorial boundaries and subject, more or less, to an autonomous legal system exercising jurisdiction through properly constituted courts. ... In some federations, a province (subnational entity) is called a state. ... Federalism is the idea of a group or body of members that are bound together (latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. ... Look up Synonym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Synonyms (in ancient Greek syn ÏƒÏ…Î½ = plus and onoma ÏŒÎ½Î¿Î¼Î± = name) are different words with similar or identical meanings and are interchangable. ... Look up country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... International law, is the body of law that regulates the activities of entities possessing international personality. Traditionally, that meant the conduct and relationships of states. ... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... Antarctica is a continent encircling the Earths South Pole, surrounded by the Southern Ocean and divided in two by the Transantarctic Mountains. ... A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states, or over the possession/control of land by one state after it has conquered it from a former state no longer currently recognized by the occupying power. ... Failed state is a controversial term intended to mean a weak state in which the central government has little practical control over much of its territory. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... Look up country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Motto: Onen hag oll (Cornish: One and all) Geography Status Ceremonial and (smaller) Non-metropolitan county Region South West England Population - Total (2004 est. ... Image File history File links England_flag. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area â€“ Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 kmÂ² Population â€“ Total (mid-2004) â€“ Total (2001 Census) â€“ Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Constituent country is an official term used to describe three of the four principal component parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK): England; Scotland; Wales. ... The Home Nations is a name to collectively describe the four nations of the United Kingdom: the countries of England, Scotland and Wales, and the province of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... ... Look up country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ...

Etymology

The word "state" originates from the medieval state or throne upon which the head of state (usually a monarch) would sit. By process of metonymy, the word state became used to refer to both the head of state and the power entity he represented (though the former meaning has fallen out of use). A similar association of terms can today be seen in the practice of referring to government buildings as having authority, for example "The White House today released a press statement..." The Throne of Canada Thrones for The Queen of Canada, and the Duke of Edinburgh and the Governor General, in the Canadian Senate, Ottawa. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State in many Commonwealth countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Bahamas and many more, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... In rhetoric and cognitive linguistics, metonymy (in Greek Î¼ÎµÏ„Î¬ (meta) = after/later and ÏŒÎ½Î¿Î¼Î± (onoma) = name) (IPA: mÉ™-tÅnÉ™-mÄ“) is the use of a single characteristic to identify a more complex entity. ... Building is either the act of creating an object assembled from more than one element, or the object itself; see also construction. ...

Formation of the state

The birth of the state, in the broadest sense of the word, coincides with the rise of civilization. For most of the existence of the human species, people lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. That lifestyle began to change with the invention of agriculture around the 9th millennium BC. The practice of agriculture made it necessary for human beings to build permanent settlements and spend most of their lives in close proximity to the land they cultivated. Thus, control over land became an issue for the first time. To express that control, various forms of property rights developed, with people claiming different kinds of rights over various areas of land. Disagreements over the nature and extent of such claims of ownership degenerated into violence and the first "wars". The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ... Europe and surrounding areas in the 9th millennium BC. Blue areas are covered in ice. ... This page deals with property as ownership rights. ...

In some parts of the world, notably Mesopotamia and the Nile valley, natural conditions favoured the concentration of land ownership in few hands. Eventually, a small group of people found themselves owning the land on which many other people worked for a living. This control over the land meant control over the people whose livelihoods depended on the land; thus, the first primitive states arose. These states were usually despotic and unstable, with the ruler(s) holding absolute power over their subjects until some other ruler(s) displaced them. Since there were no laws and no infrastructure, and since power was exercised arbitrarily, some political theorists and historians do not consider such early forms of despotic rule to have been states in the proper sense of the word; they are sometimes called proto-states. Mesopotamia (Greek: ÎœÎµÏƒÎ¿Ï€Î¿Ï„Î±Î¼Î¯Î±, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan between rivers; Aramaic name being Beth Nahrain house of rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ... For alternative meanings of Nile, see Nile (disambiguation) The Nile (Arabic: Ø§Ù„Ù†ÙŠÙ„ an-nÄ«l), in Africa, is one of the two longest rivers on Earth. ... Despotism is government by a singular authority, either a single person or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute power. ...

One of the earliest known sets of laws, the Code of Hammurabi, has been dated to ca. 1700 BC. It was around this time that the concept of law - one of the foundations of the modern state - began to appear. But the rulers of the Ancient Near East had a long tradition of holding absolute power and claiming the status of god-kings (see hydraulic despotism). Thus, laws limiting the power of monarchs did not develop very far in that region. An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi (also known as the Codex Hammurabi and Hammurabis Code), created ca. ... (Redirected from 1700 BC) (18th century BC - 17th century BC - 16th century BC - other centuries) (1690s BC - 1680s BC - 1670s BC - 1660s BC - 1650s BC - 1640s BC - 1630s BC - 1620s BC - 1610s BC - 1600s BC - 1590s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1700... Law (from the Old Norse lagu) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments of/for those who do... Overview map of the Ancient Near East The term Ancient Near East or Ancient Orient encompasses the early civilizations predating Classical Antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, the Fertile Crescent, Anatolia), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from... A God-King is a monarch that holds a special religious significance toward his subjects. ... Hydraulic despotism is a term for despotic rule supported by control of a single, necessary resource. ...

The city-states of Ancient Greece were the first to establish states whose powers were clearly defined in laws (even if the laws themselves could usually be changed quite easily). Also, notably, the idea of democracy was born in ancient Athens (see Athenian democracy). A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... Athens (Greek: Î‘Î¸Î®Î½Î± AthÃna IPA ) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world. ... The speakers platform in the Pnyx, the meeting ground of the assembly where all the great political struggles of Athens were fought out during the Golden Age. Here Athenian statesmen stood to speak, such as Pericles and Aristides in the 5th century BC and Demosthenes and Aeschines in the...

Many institutions of the modern state (especially in Western Europe and areas once dominated by Western-European empires) can trace their origins back to Ancient Rome, which inherited the political traditions of the Greeks and developed them further (particularly the rule of law, albeit in incomplete form). However, the Roman Republic gave way to the Roman Empire - which, in turn, created the concept of universal empire: the idea that the entire world was (or should be) under the authority of one single legitimate state. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

The fall of the Roman Empire in the west and the Great Migrations changed the character of European politics. The "barbarian" (i.e., non-Roman) kingdoms and chieftains that followed the Roman Empire were ephemeral and transitory and bore little resemblance to the modern state. Even the kingdom of Charlemagne was fleeting; without the tradition of primogeniture, it dissolved into three smaller kingdoms with the Treaty of Verdun in 843. These kingdoms were treated more as land holdings by the royalty that ruled them. Once again, the state became little more than an expression of the ruler's private ownership of a certain area of land. The Roman Empire is not the Holy Roman Empire (843-1806). ... The German term Völkerwanderung (lit. ... Charlemagne (742 or 747 â€“ 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and king of the Lombards from 774 to 814. ... Primogeniture is the common tradition of inheritance by the first-born of the entirety of a parents wealth, estate or office; or in the absence of children, by collateral relatives, in order of seniority of the collateral line. ... In the Treaty of Verdun of 843 the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious divided his territories, the Carolingian Empire, into three kingdoms. ... Events Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian empire between the 3 sons of Louis the Pious. ...

The lack of a real successor to the Roman Empire in Western Europe created a power vacuum. The kingdoms of Western Europe were besieged by invaders on the frontiers - first, the Muslim invasions from the south, then a series of new migrations from the east and finally the Viking invasions from the north. At the same time, the various kingdoms (and smaller political units) were often involved in wars with each other over territory and succession. A Muslim (Arabic: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ... The name Viking is a loanword from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century. ...

The solution that evolved out of these affairs was decidedly opposed to the system of independent states and temporary alliances that dominate the modern international system. Religion, which had rarely been a factor in the power calculations of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, became the cornerstone of an extremely loose pan-European defensive bloc under the aegis of the Catholic Church. This system produced an extensive framework of institutions - sometimes called "feudalism" - that regulated internal conflict and enabled Western Europe to confront exterior threats, even while no individual secular entity was truly independent in the sense of the modern state. Aegis (Gr. ... The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ...

This system asserted itself abroad in the form of the Crusades as the Middle Ages progressed. In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII stated that the political powers of Christendom exercised their prerogatives "at the command and sufferance of the priest." This limited the power of kings, who were obliged to pledge their ultimate allegiance to the Pope. This article is about historical Crusades . ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Events July 11 - Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch), major victory of Flanders over the French occupier. ... Boniface VIII, nÃ© Benedetto Caetani (Anagni, ca. ... The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the head of the Catholic Church, which considers him the successor of St. ...

The Holy Roman Empire, one of the strongest medieval authorities, emerged as a competitor to Papal power under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who invaded Italy to press his claims to secular authority in the mid-12th century. The weakening of the papacy was a major theme of the Middle Ages; the Western Schism in the later 14th century, a dispute over papal succession, was exploited by secular authorities and contributed to their growing power. The emergence of large, stable land holdings by single dynasties - for instance, France and Castile - enabled them to take a more active and independent role than their traditionally subsidiary role in the earlier middle ages. This page is about the Germanic empire. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... Frederick in a 13th century Chronicle Frederick I (German: Friedrich I. von Hohenstaufen)(1122 â€“ June 10, 1190), also known as Friedrich Barbarossa (Frederick Redbeard) was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18, 1155. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Historical map of the Western Schism The Western Schism or Papal Schism (Also known as the Great Schism of Western Christianity) was a split within the Catholic Church in 1378. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... A former kingdom of modern day Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ...

This shift to more independent, more secular actors would become a major point of controversy in Early Modern Europe. The great dynasties of Europe dramatically consolidated power by the beginning of the 16th century; additionally, the external threats to Europe had considerably lessened. The Reformation was to have a powerful impact on the structure of European politics; the dispute was not only theological, but also threatened the very fabric of the ancient political institutions of feudalism. The bloody conflicts that followed, blending the religious and political, pitted those who asserted the authority of the Pope (and in Germany, the Holy Roman Emperor) against those who asserted the authority of secular authorities and their sovereign ability to make internal policy, particularly when that policy reflected religious affiliation, Roman Catholic or Protestant. The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies, that spans the time between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution that has created modern society. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

These conflicts culminated in the Thirty Years' War of the 17th century. In 1648, the powers of Europe signed the Treaty of Westphalia which ended the religious violence for purely political motives and the Church was stripped of temporal power - even though religion continued to play a political role as the foundation of the divine right of kings. The principle of "cuius regio, eius religio" established at Westphalia and previously in the Peace of Augsburg set a precedent of noninterference in other states' internal affairs that was key in the evolution of the modern state. In Germany, the office of the Holy Roman Emperor, the most prominent symbol of lingering institutions of feudalism, was emasculated as a secular authority in favor of the constituent elements of the Holy Roman Empire. The modern state was born. The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of todays Germany, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster by Gerard Terborch (1648) The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, is the series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years War and officially recognized the United Provinces and Swiss Confederation. ... The Divine Right of Kings is a European political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. ... Cuius regio, eius religio is a phrase in Latin that means, Whose the region is, his religion. ... The Peace of Augsburg was a treaty signed between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League on September 25, 1555 at the city of Augsburg in Germany. ...

The state continued to develop as monarchs brought nobles and free towns into line and amassed spectacular resources and prestige. The growing numbers of civil servants eventually became known as the bureaucracy after the elevation of the Republican ideal. Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science. ...

Nearly a century and a half after the Peace of Westphalia, the state became fully modern through the French Revolution. Claiming 'national will' as its justification, Napoleon and the Grande Armee of France swept over Europe. In response, conquered and neighboring principalities discarded their old systems and adopted the new model of the nation state. The nation state has remained the dominant political entity all over the world ever since, even though the many ideologies of the 19th and 20th century have created numerous different ways of running the affairs of nation states, as well as numerous different forms of internal and external organization (see political system and economic system). The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period in the history of France. ... La Grande Armée (in English, the Big or Grand Army) is the French military term for the main force in a military campaign. ... A nation-state is a specific form of state (a political entity), which exists to provide a sovereign territory for a particular nation (a cultural entity), and which derives its legitimacy from that function. ... An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... An economic system is a mechanism which deals with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a particular society. ...

International level

(see also international relations International Relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ...

The legal criteria for statehood are not obvious. Often, the laws are surpased by political circumstances. However, one of the documents often quoted on the matter is the Montevideo Convention from 1933, the first article of which states: The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States was a treaty signed at Montevideo on December 26, 1933, at the Seventh International Conference of American States. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Also, in article 3 it very clearly states that statehood is independent of recognition by other states. This is the declarative theory of statehood. While the Montevideo is a regional American convention and has no legal effect outside the Americas, some have nonetheless seen it as an accurate statement of customary international law.

On the other hand, article 3 of the convention is attacked by the advocates of the constitutive theory of statehood, where a state exists only insofar as it is recognized by other states. Which theory is correct is a controversial issue in international law. An example in practice was the collapse of central government in Somalia in the early 1990s: the Montevideo convention would imply that the state of Somalia no longer existed, and the subsequently declared republic of Somaliland (comprising part of the so-called "former" Somalia) may meet the criteria for statehood. However the self-declared republic has not achieved recognition by other states. One explanation for this might be the very high value placed on territorial integrity within international law.(((((---- a recognition of government government is not the same as recognition of the State. The international community never ceased to recognize Somalia. Intead, the international community chose to recognized two separate states (Somalia and Eritrea). The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... Motto: Freedom, Democracy and Success for All Anthem: Samo ku waar Samo ku waar Saamo ku waar Capital Hargeisa Largest city Hargeisa Official language(s) Somali Government President Republic Dahir Riyale Kahin Independence - Declared - Recognition From Somalia - 1991 - none Area â€¢ Total â€¢ Water (%) 137,600 kmÂ² (-) n/a Population â€¢ 2005 est. ...

Article 1 of the convention is also attacked by those who claim that it fails to take into account the complicated situations of military occupation, territorial cession, and governments in exile. Richard W. Hartzell is a leading proponent of this view, and stresses that the four criteria of article 1 need to be expanded to nine. See The Montevideo Convention and Military Occupation.

The domestic level

Looked at from the point of view of an individual or unitary state, it can be seen as a centralized organization. Those studying this level, emphasize the relationship between the state and its people. The English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes argued that in order to avoid a multi-sided civil war, we needed a "Leviathan", a unified and centralized state. However, many institutions that have been called "states" do not live up to this definition. For example, in countries such as Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the internecine warfare between various factions, one of them considered the "central state", has so far been more intense than some threshold of "state success". These cases are sometimes called "failed states". Political philosophy is the study of the fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, property, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should... Hobbes redirects here. ... Failed state is a controversial term intended to mean a weak state in which the central government has little practical control over much of its territory. ...

Other states may have excessive control over their subjects: totalitarianism, even killing huge numbers of them (i.e Pol-Pot), exceeding its exercise of the use of force. These states are called "predatory states". (Benjamin Polak and Boaz Moselle (2001). A Model of a Predatory State, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization. pp. 1-33) Totalitarianism describes a form of government where the state exercises absolute political and social control over most or all aspects of public and private behavior; there is no regard for individualism; and political opposition is typically subject to violent or arbitrary repression. ...

From an economic point of view, one of the most basic characteristics of a modern state is regulation of property rights, investment, trade and the commodity markets (in food, fuel, etc.) typically using its own currency. Although many states (by their own decision) increasingly cede these powers to trade bloc entities, e.g. North American Free Trade Agreement, European Union, it is always controversial to do so, and opens the question of whether these blocs are in fact simply larger states. The study of political economy, which evolved into the modern study of economics, deals with these specific questions in more detail. This page deals with property as ownership rights. ... Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in finance and economics. ... A fruit stand at a market. ... Chicago Board of Trade Futures market Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. ... A trade bloc is a large free trade area or near-free trade area formed by one or more tax, tariff and trade agreements. ... NAFTA Initialing Ceremony, October 1992. ... Political economy was the original term for the study of production, the acts of buying and selling, and their relationships to laws, customs and government. ... Economics (from the Greek Î¿Î¯ÎºÎ¿Ï‚ [oikos], family, household, estate, and Î½Î¿Î¼Î¿Ï‚ [nomos], custom, law, hence household management and management of the state) is a social science that studies the production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services. ...

However, although states are often influenced in their decisions and no longer hold an absolute jurisdiction over their internal affairs, they are nonetheless much stronger in relation to international organizations or to other states than lower (substate) political subdivisions normally are. But the trend at the moment is for the power of superstate levels of governance to increase, and there is no sign of this increase abating. Many (especially those who favour constitutional theories of international law) therefore reject as outdated the idea of sovereignty, and view the state as just the chief political subdivision of the planet.

Philosophies of the state

Different political philosophies have distinct opinions concerning the state as a domestic organization. In the modern era, these philosophies emerged with the rise of capitalism, which coincided with the (re)emergence of the state as a separate and centralized sector of society. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau pondered issues concerning the ideal and actual roles of the state. Recent philosophers like John Rawls and Robert Nozick were more concerned with distributive justice and the morality of exercising political power. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Capitalism Capitalism has been defined in various ways. ... Hobbes redirects here. ... John Locke (August 29, 1632 â€“ October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher and social contract theorist. ... Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 â€“ July 2, 1778) was a Franco-Swiss philosopher of Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. ... John Rawls (February 21, 1921 â€“ November 24, 2002) was an American philosopher, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, and The Law of Peoples. ... Robert Nozick (November 16, 1938 â€“ January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher and Pellegrino University Professor at Harvard University. ...

There are four theories about the origin (and indirectly the justification) of the state. They are:

These four theories can accommodate the full spectrum of political views. In practice, most people (and most political philosophies) subscribe to a combination of two or more of the above theories - arguing, for example, that different states have different origins. The conflict theory, in particular, is often combined with one of the other three in order to separate the illegitimate states (those created through conflict and subjugation) from the legitimate ones. Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and derived henotheistic forms. ... The Divine Right of Kings is a European political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. ... Natural rights are rights derived from natural law. ... Social contract - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Some of the major major philosophies of the state are: contractarianism, liberalism, Marxism, conservatism, and anarchism. Social contract is a phrase used in philosophy, political science, and sociology to denote a real or hypothetical agreement within a state regarding the rights and responsibilities of the state and its citizens, or more generally a similar concord between a group and its members. ... This article discusses liberalism as a major political ideology as it developed and stands currently. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For related and other uses, see Conservatism (disambiguation) Conservatism [derivative of conserve; from Latin conservare, to keep, guard, observe] in its true and classic sense is a simple philosophy that emphasizes a disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve. Classical conservatism does not readily avail itself to the ideology... Anarchism is derived from the word anarchist, which originated as a term of abuse, first used against early working class radicals including the Diggers of the English Revolution and the sans-culottes of the French Revolution. ...

Contractarianism, as the name implies, is based on the social contract theory. It is also the only major philosophy of the state that does not fall within any single political ideology - perhaps because several different ideologies have adopted it as their own. Contractarianism is the foundation of modern democracy, as well as most forms of socialism and some types of liberalism. In contractarian thinking, the state should express the public interest, the interests of the whole society, and reconcile it with the separate interests of individuals. The state provides public goods and other kinds of collective consumption, while preventing individuals from free-riding (taking advantage of collective consumption without paying) by forcing them to pay taxes. Social contract is a phrase used in philosophy, political science, and sociology to denote a real or hypothetical agreement within a state regarding the rights and responsibilities of the state and its citizens, or more generally a similar concord between a group and its members. ... Socialism is an ideology of a social and economic system in which the means of production are collectively owned and administered by all of society. ... Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ... In economics, a public good is one that cannot or will not be produced for individual profit, since it is difficult to get people to pay for its large beneficial externalities. ... In economics and political science, free riders are actors who consume more than their fair share of a resource, or shoulder less than a fair share of the costs of its production. ...

Liberalism, in the classical sense, is based mainly on the natural rights theory. In this view, some or even all "rights" exist naturally and are not created by the state. For example, John Locke believed that individual property rights existed prior to the creation of the state, while the state's main job should be to preserve those rights. Historically, liberals have been less concerned with determining what the state should do and far more interested in stipulating what the state shouldn't do. The liberal philosophy of the state holds that the powers of any state are restricted by natural rights that exist independently of the human mind and overrule any social contract. However, there has been considerable debate among liberals as to what these natural rights actually are. Critics argue that they do not exist at all, since they are not evident from any observations of nature. This article discusses liberalism as a major political ideology as it developed and stands currently. ... Classical liberalism (also called classic liberalism or simply liberalism) is the original form of, and is today a tendency within, liberalism. ... John Locke (August 29, 1632 â€“ October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher and social contract theorist. ...

On the other hand, there are also liberals who subscribe to the contractarian theory. In most cases, they fall on the left wing of liberalism, being social liberals ("New Deal" liberals; see American liberalism) and arguing for a welfare state. They stand in opposition to adherents of the natural rights theory, who tend to be libertarians, falling on the right wing of liberalism and arguing for a "minimal" state. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ... Social liberalism is either a synonym for new liberalism or a label used by progressive liberal parties in order to differentiate themselves from the more conservative liberal parties, especially when there are two or more liberal parties in a country. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: New Deal The New Deal is the name given to the series of programs implemented 1933-37 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the goal of relief, recovery and reform of the United States economy during the Great Depression. ... American liberalism (also called modern liberalism) is a political current that claims descent from classical liberalism in terms of devotion to individual liberty, but rejects the laissez faire economics of classical liberalism in favor of institutions that promote social and economic equity. ... There are three main interpretations of the idea of a welfare state: the provision of welfare services by the state. ... This article is about the classical liberal individualist philosophy that strongly emphasizes private property rights conjoined with civil liberties. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply The Right, are terms that refer to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of conservatism, classical liberalism, the religious right, authoritarian nationalism; or often simply the opposite of left-wing politics. ... A night watchman state, or a minimal state is a form of government in political philosophy where the governments responsibilities are so minimal they cannot be reduced much further without becoming a form of anarchy. ...

The Marxist philosophy of the state is based on the conflict theory - specifically, on the idea of class conflict. In this view, the primary role of the state in practice is to enforce the existing system of unequal property and personal rights, class domination, and exploitation. The state also mediates in all types of social conflicts, and supplies necessary social-infrastructural conditions for society as a whole. Under such systems as feudalism, the lords used their own military force to exploit their vassals. Under capitalism, on the other hand, the use of force is centralized in a specialized organization which protects the capitalists' class monopoly of ownership of the means of production, allowing the exploitation of those without such ownership. In modern Marxian theory, such class domination can coincide with other forms of domination (such as patriarchy and ethnic hierarchies). To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Class conflict is both the friction that accompanies social relationships between members or groups of different social classes and the underlying tensions or antagonisms which exist in society. ... Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. ... The term exploitation may carry two distinct meanings: The act of utilizing something for any purpose. ... The means of production are physical, non-human, inputs used in production. ... Patriarchy (from Greek: patria meaning father and archÃ© meaning rule) is the anthropological term used to define the sociological condition where male members of a society tend to predominate in positions of power; with the more powerful the position, the more likely it is that a male will hold that... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ...

Further, in Marxist theory, classes and other forms of exploitation should be abolished by establishing a socialist system, to be followed later by a communist one. Communism, the final goal, is a classless, propertyless and stateless society; however, socialism still preserves personal property and a (democratic) state. Thus, Marxism is opposed to the state (which it views as illegitimate, in accordance with the conflict theory), but does not wish to abolish the state immediately. As such, there is some overlap between Marxism and contractarianism: the socialist state that Marxists wish to establish as their short-term goal is to be based on a form of social contract. This state ought subsequently to slowly "wither away" as the representative democracy of socialism gradually transforms into the direct democracy of communism. Once the process is complete, the communist social order has been achieved and the state no longer exists as an entity separate from the people. Socialism is an ideology of a social and economic system in which the means of production are collectively owned and administered by all of society. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Personal property is a type of property. ... Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the exercise of popular sovereignty by the peoples representants. ... Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty was lodged in the assembly of all citizens. ...

In conservative thinking, which is based on the theory of (super)natural authority, the existing structure of traditions and hierarchies (of class, patriarchy, ethnic dominance, etc.) is seen as benefiting society overall. Thus, in a way, conservatives accept some ideas from both the Marxist and the liberal schools of thought, but view them in a different light: the state forces people to accept class and other kinds of domination, but this is seen as being for their own good. This perspective posits that, in general, current traditions only exist because they have been demonstrably successful in the past. Further, as with the liberals, the state is seen as always existing and/or "natural". Many conservatives, especially in recent decades, have come out in favor of the liberal theory of natural rights. For related and other uses, see Conservatism (disambiguation) Conservatism [derivative of conserve; from Latin conservare, to keep, guard, observe] in its true and classic sense is a simple philosophy that emphasizes a disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve. Classical conservatism does not readily avail itself to the ideology...

Finally, in anarchist thinking, the state is nothing but an unnecessary and exploitative segment of society. Totally rejecting the Hobbesian notion that only a state can prevent chaos, anarchists argue that the state's monopoly on violence creates chaos. This is a form of the conflict theory of the state. They believe that if people realized that they could figure out how to work together peacefully and unleash individual creativity, the state and its restrictions on individual freedom would be abolished - and/or vice versa. Contrary to the Marxist perspective, the anarchists see the state as an unnecessary evil, rather than a tool to be used in the class struggle. Anarchism is derived from the word anarchist, which originated as a term of abuse, first used against early working class radicals including the Diggers of the English Revolution and the sans-culottes of the French Revolution. ...

Contemporary Theories of the State

A useful way to understand the current debates in political science is following Stephen Krasner (1984) explanation. According to him, political scientists go around four different conceptions of the state:

Each of these aproaches concentrate on different functions and attributtes of the state and, hence, give way to different explanations for political outcomes. However, in general, contemporary political science studies the state as a problem of rule power and not as a problem of allocation (pluralism). Ultimately, the best way to study the state is thorough it institutions as most political scientist do institutionalism, historical institutionalism, new institutionalism. ((Peter Evans, Theda Skocpol, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, eds., Bringing the State Back in, Cambridge University Press, 1985)). Kenneth N. Waltz is a prominent international relations (IR) scholar. ... Robert A. Dahl (b. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... Clifford James Geertz (born August 23, 1926 in San Francisco) is an American anthropologist serving as professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey. ... Look up Power in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Power has many meanings, all of which imply control or force. ... Pluralism is, in the general sense, the affirmation and acceptance of diversity. ... see New institutionalism see historical institutionalism see Institutionalism in political parties Category: ... Historical institutionalism (HI) is a social science method of inquiry that uses institutions as subject of study in order to find, measure and trace patterns and sequences of social, political, economic behavior and change accross time and space. ... New institutionalism is a social theory that focuses on developing a sociological view of institutions, the way they interact and the effects of institutions on society. ... Peter The Bandit Evans in an English poker player, who came to the limelight when finishing as runner-up in the first series of Late Night Poker. ... Theda Skocpol (born May 4, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan) is a sociologist and political scientist at Harvard University, presently serving as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. ...

Since then, critical theory in political geography and international relations has developed a fruther 'post-modern' theory of the state. This argues that, in a globalizing world, the state is being super-ceded by other internaitonal actors such as NGOs, IGOs, TNCs and the various actors of civil society. An extremist view along these lines was forwarded by Kenichi Ohmae, who has written books such as The End of the Nation States:Rise of Regional Economies (Ohmae, Kenichi, Harper Collins, 1995). A more moderate version sees states as having moulded into networks of connections, where some sovereignty and control has been sourced out to private companies, international organizations such as the European Union and non-governmental organizations such as Oxfam, who are now involved in the active 'governing' of some areas (Derek Gregory refers to state as networks in chapter 1 of his book on the War on Terror called The Colonial Present, 2004, Blackwell Press). In the humanities and social sciences, critical theory has two quite different meanings with different origins and histories, one originating in social theory and the other in literary criticism. ... Political geography is the scientific study of power relations in space and space implications on them. ... International Relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... Globalization (or globalisation)refers to the worldwide phenomenon of technological, economic, political and cultural exchanges, brought about by modern communication, transportation and legal infrastructure as well as the political choice to consciously open cross-border links in international trade and finance. ... NGO is an abbreviation or code for: Non-governmental organization Nagoya Airport (IATA code) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Go is a strategic, two-player board game originating in ancient China between 2000 BC and 200 BC. Go is a popular game in East Asia. ... A TNC can refer to: A Threaded Neill-Concelman connector A transnational corporation A terminal node controller The Nature Conservancy The Noise Crew This is a disambiguation page â€” a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Civil society or civil institutions refers to the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations or institutions which form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force backed structures of a state (regardless of that states political system). ... Kenichi Ohmae is one of the worlds leading business and corporate strategists. ... A wide variety of systems of interconnected components are called networks. ... Oxfam International, founded in 1995, is a confederation of 12 independent, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organisations who work with local partners in over 100 countries worldwide to reduce poverty, suffering, and injustice. ... Derek Gregory is an influential British geographer from the United Kingdom. ... The war on terrorism or war on terror (abbreviated in U.S. policy circles as GWOT for Global War on Terror) is an effort by the governments of the United States and its principal allies to destroy groups deemed to be terrorist (primarily radical Islamist organizations such as al-Qaeda...

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