POLITICS & THE STATE
WEEK 2
STATES
• Laski (1982) defines a state as “a territorial society divided into government and subjects
claiming within its allotted physical area, a supremacy over all other institutions.
• In other words, people, territory, government and sovereignty
• Heywood (2014:57) – many interpretations of what is meant by the state – these include “a
collection of institutions, a territorial unit, a philosophical idea, and instrument of coersion or
oppression, and so on”.
• State applies to that political authority which maintains domination over a specific
geographical area. It is the means by which the people are organized for the purposes of legal
coercion.
• Weber (1964) defines the state as “a regime or supreme authority, which gives order to
all and receives orders from all.”
• Woodrow Wilson defines a state as “a people organized for law within a political
community”
• Karl Marx introduced the ideological dimension to his definition, when a defines the
modern state as “a committee for managing the affairs of the whole bourgeoisie”
DEFINING THE STATE:
IDEOLOGICAL APPROACHES
1)Idealist approach:
• Hegel focused on the family, civil society and the state as critical “moments” of social
existence – the family, civil society and the state.
• Conceived of the state as an ethical community underpinned by mutual sympathy
• Critique: uncritical admiration for the state and its role in society
2)Functionalist Approach
• Focuses on the role and functions of state institutions
• Main role of the state- maintain social order
• Marxist interpretation
• The state as a mechanism through which class conflict is ignored to ensure the survival of
the capitalist system
• Criticism – associates any institution that maintains order with the state
3)Organisational View
• State is seen as the apparatus of government
• 5 Feature of the State:
-Sovereignty – exercises absolute unrestricted power
-State institutions are public – collective decision making
-The state is an exercise in legitimation – seen as binding on citizens
-The state is an instrument of domination – backed up by coercion – laws and regulations to enforce and
reprimand transgressors
-The state is a territorial association – the state is geographically designed with borders
4) International approach
• The state is an actor in a world stage- enables relations and prevents external attacks
• Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of the State (1933) - Article one: 4
Features
-Defined territory
-A permanent population
-An effective government
-The capacity to enter into relations with other states
• ways in which frontiers are superimposed on the world map means that states vary
enormously in their sizes, mineral deposits, access to the sea, vulnerability and
cohesiveness
• De facto recognition of one state by another is given when a state agrees that another is
able to exercise proper governmental control over its territory
• De jure recognition is given, if the recognizing state thinks that the method by which the
government in the other state was formed is in accordance with the accepted
constitutional traditions and procedure of that state.
Conclusion
• The state is a political community that recognizes the importance of law in its internal
organization and its external relations.
• A state also functions within a deliberately structured institutional framework. It
possesses compulsory jurisdiction over those who live within its territory
WHY THE STATE CAME INTO EXISTENCE
• Peace of Westphalia formalized the modern notion of statehood.
1. Tilly:War made the state, state made the war.
2. Marxism: It emerged in economic terms – can be traced back from feudalism to
capitalism
3. Mann: state’s capacity to combine ideological , economic , military and political forms of
power
FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE
• The state evolves for the sake of life and continues “for the sake of life” (Aristotle).
• When the state by its education and laws, written and unwritten, succeeds in evoking and
maintain in vigorous activity a life rich in noble aims and deeds, then and not till then has
it fully attained the end for which it exists (Aristotle).
• Locke’s view: His concern is not with the ‘good’ but with the ‘convenient’.
• Adam smith (1723-90) in his The Wealth of Nations (1776) laid down the
following as the three duties the sovereign state must attend to:
• 1. The duty of protecting the society from violence and invasion of other independent
societies
• 2. The duty of establishing an exact administration of justice
• 3. The duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public
institutions for the society
NATION
• often used as a synonym for state or country
• not technically correct
• the concept of a nation is not political, but sociological. A nation can exist even though it is not contained within a particular state or served by a given
government. A nation exists where there is a union of people based on similarities in linguistic pattern, ethnic relationship, or cultural heritage.
• It is common to talk of one’s nationality or one’s state of origin as if the two are interchangeable or synonymous
• One can belong to a state without belonging to the nation or one of its constituent nations. Conversely, one can belong to a nation and not the state in which it
is located.
• It is also possible for a nation to live across many states
• while the state is a political entity with sovereignty, a nation is a group of people bound together by the sentiment of nationality - race, culture,
religion, language, history.
• the state has monopoly of coercive force but a nation lacks such element power. Only the states not nations, are recognized and represented at the international
for a such as the United Nations, African Union, International Monetary Fund, Arab League,
NATION STATE
• in political terms, part of the definition of a modern society is that it is organized into a
nation-state. The term nation symbolized the unity of a people around which people unify and
through which they identify themselves and assess political events. So strong is the peoples’
identification with the nation-state that political leaders often need to claim that a particular
act is in the national interest to satisfy many citizens that the policy is justified
• what is essential is that the people feel that they share deeply significant element of a
common heritage and that they have common destiny for the future – being patriotic
• acceptance of similar concepts of political authority and legitimacy and see their future as
being bound up with each other and being willing to accept this prospect.
DEBATING THE STATE
• Rival theories of the state offer a different account of its origins , development and
impact on society.
• 1)The Pluralist State:
- Pluralism – a belief in diversity/ power in modern society is evenly distributed
- State should act as a referee for society
- State is the ‘servant of society and not its master.’
- State is neutral – it will side with the best option for all and represents the common
good.
• 1a) Neo-Pluralist State :
- Neo-pluralism is a social theory that maintains basic beliefs of pluralism but understands
the need to always evolve in light of changes.
- Modern industrialized states are more complex and less responsive to popular pressure
- State can forge their own sectional interest
• 2) Capitalist State (Marxist):
- The state must be understood in conjunction with economic structure and is a tool of
class oppression
- State is apart of a ‘superstructure’ that is conditioned by an economic ‘base’ (the base is
the real foundation of social life.)
- Unequal class power
• 2a) Neo- Marxist State:
- Attempts to revise the classical ideas of Marx, while faithful to certain aspects of his
theory
- State plays an important role in the process of bourgeoisie leadership and cultural
control
- State is an entity which highlights the struggle/ balance of power
• 3 Leviathan State:
- Leviathan – self-serving monster with intent only on expansion on increasing
power/wealth
- Strongly against state intervention in economic and social life
- Central feature – pursues interests that are separate from society.
• 4 Patriarchal State:
- Takes into account the implications of feminist theory
- State is biased in favor of men – seen through unequal positions of power
- Believes in neutrality of the state because the biased nature van be changed through
reform
- Radical feminists have a negative view of the state and believe that state power reflects
patriarchy through oppression.
ROLE OF THE STATE:
6 PERSPECTIVES
• 1) Minimal States:
- View of liberals – individual enjoy freedom
- States are protective bodies
3 core functions:
- States exist to maintain domestic order
- Ensures contracts made between citizens are enforced
- Protection against external attacks
• 2) Developmental States :
- The state intervenes in economic life with the aim of promoting economic development
and industrial growth.
- Attempts to create a partnership between the state and major economic interests (eg.
Organized labour and businesses ). Japan and Germany are best examples
- Economic globalization has resulted in the emergence of competition states and tiger
economies
• 3) Social Democratic State:
- Ideal for neo-liberals and democratic socialists
- State intervention brings about broader social restructuring through fairness, equality and
social justice.
- Seen in Austria, Sweden – State intervention guided by developmental and social-
democratic priorities.
- Focuses on equitable distribution of wealth (poverty eradication and reduce social
inequality)
• 4) Collective States :
- State brings all economic life under their control
- Seek to abolish private enterprise altogether and set up centrally planned economies
- Socialist perspective- Common ownership over private property
• 5) Totalitarian States :
- States influence all aspects of human existence (most extreme form of interventionism)
- Examples – Hitler during Nazi, Stalin USSR and Saddam Husein Iraq
- State abolishes all forms of private Sphere
• 6) Religious States :
-State is driven by the tendency to reject the public/ private divide and use religion as the basis
- Aim to seize control of the state and use it as an instrument for religious and spiritual growth
Eg. Islamization in Pakistan after 1978
ECLIPSE OF THE STATE
• Since 1980s there has been claims that the importance of the state started to decline.
• States are primary determinants of what happens in their national boundaries (globalisation is at the
• service of states)
• Globalisation has brought about qualitative changes in the role and significance of the state
• Migration and cultural globalisation have made state borders permeable
• In economic terms, globalisation has resulted in the rise of supraterritoriality (the process through which
• economic activity increasing takes place within a borderless world)
• This is more evident in the ease with which transnational corporations can move their investments if a country’s policy
becomes unfavorable
• Globalization is also reflected in the growing influence of regional trading blocks (the EU, NAFTA)
NON STATE ACTORS AND INTERNATIONAL
BODIES
• Further decline of the state results from the rise of non-state actors and the growing importance of
international organisations.
• Major aspects of politics now take place beyond the borders, increasingly through TNCs.
• TNCs show to have higher economic success then countries in some cases (example General Motors is
comparable in economic size to Denmark.)
• The growth of politics beyond the state has also been apparent in the change towards political
globalization
• Political globalization refers to the growing importance of international bodies and organizations
• International Bodies like the European Union and the world trade organization have undermined the
capacity of state to act a self-governing units.
FAILED STATES AND STATE BUILDING
• In some cases (India, South Korea) developing world states have been highly successful in
pursuing social and economic development.
• Others have been labelled ‘failed states’ because they are unable to maintain domestic
order and personal security.
• State failure is not just a domestic problem as it may result in:
- Provoking external intervention to provide humanitarian relief
- Precipitating refugee crisis – drug dealers, terrorists
• Therefore, growing emphasis on state-building to address structural causes of violence
