CONCEPT OF STATE

State taken from the Latin stare ( to stand ) a

state is a political community that occupies a
definite territory; having an organized
government with the authority to make and
enforce laws without the consent of a higher
authority. It is also defined as a self-governing
political entity.
 ELEMENTS OF THE STATE

1. PEOPLE – known as population

or inhabitants
 ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
2. Territory – refers to the portion of
the earth which is composed of
aerial, fluvial, and terrestrial
domains.
AERIAL
FLUVIAL
 MARITIME TERMS:
A.Territorial Sea – Coastal states have sovereignty, including exclusive
fishing rights ( 12 nautical miles )
B.Contiguous Zone – Coastal state can enforce its customs,
immigration, and sanitation laws and exercise “ hot pursuit” out of
its territorial waters ( 24 nautical miles )
C.Exclusive Economic Zone – State has recognized rights to explore,
exploit, conserve, and manage the natural resources ( 200 nautical
miles).
D.Continental Shelf – Countries have exclusive rights to natural
resources up to 350 nm.
E.High Seas – beyond EEZ – “common heritage of humankind”
Continental Shelf (350nm)
 ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
3. Sovereignty – refers to supreme
and absolute power within its
territorial boundaries.
 TYPES OF SOVEREIGNTY
1. Internal is the power of the state to
rule within its territory.
2. External is the freedom of the state
to carry out its activities without
subjection to or control by other
states.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SOVEREIGNTY
1. Sovereignty is absolute from the legal point
of view.
2. Sovereignty is permanent.
3. Sovereignty of the state is universal.
4. Sovereignty is inalienable.
5. Sovereignty is exclusive.
 ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
4. Government – refers to the institution or
agency or instrumentalities through which
the state maintains social order, provide
public services and enforces binding
decisions.
Forms of Government
1. Distribution of Power
Central Central
Central
Government Government
Government

Direction of power Direction of power Direction of power

Political unit ie., state Political unit ie., state Political unit ie., state

Federal System Federal System Federal System

A. Unitary Government power - is held by one central
authority. Example: Philippines, Denmark, Italy,
Finland, Peru, Rwanda
B. Confederation- It is a voluntary association of
independent states that often only delegate a few powers
to the central government. Weak or loose organization
of states agrees to follow a powerful central
government. Examples: The Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) formerly known as the Soviet
Union, Switzerland’s canton system
C. Federal. Government power is divided
between one central and several regional
authorities.
Example: Malaysia, USA, Nigeria, Australia
 Forms of Government

2. Citizen Participation
A. Autocracy. Form of government wherein one person possesses
unlimited power. The citizen has limited, if any, role in government.
The leader is from a family or from a social class or from a strong
party.
Forms of Autocratic Government
1. Absolute or Totalitarian Dictatorship. The ideas of a single leader
glorified. Government tries to control all aspects of social and
economic life. Moreover, the government is not responsible to the
people. Thus, the people lack the power to limit their rulers. Examples:
Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin.
 Forms of Government

Forms of Autocratic Government

2. Absolute Monarchy. The king, queen or emperor
exercises the supreme and unlimited powers of government
wherein the position is usually inherited. Absolute monarch
rules by divine right are rare today but from the 1400s to
the 1700s they ruled most of Western Europe. Example:
King of Saudi Arabia. The counterpart of absolute
monarchy is limited monarchy wherein the ruler has a
limited power as mandated by the constitution.
 Forms of Government

2. Citizen Participation
B. Oligarchy. It is the government by the few. Sometimes a
small group exercises control, especially for corrupt and
selfish purposes. The group gets its power from military
power, social power, wealth, religion or a combination. In
here, the citizen has a very limited role. Thus, political
opposition is usually suppressed-sometimes violently.
Example: Communist countries such as China. Leaders in the
party and armed forces control government.
 Forms of Government

2. Citizen Participation
C. Democracy. It is a government based on the consent of the
governed. The people are the sovereign, thus they hold the
highest political authority. Citizens have freedom to criticize
their leaders because they are the one who elected them in the
position. People have a high degree of participation in every
government processes.
 Forms of Government

2. Citizen Participation
Democracy has two forms:
1. Indirect democracy or representative democracy – is a
form of democratic government wherein the people
directly elect their leaders who will govern them and
perform governmental functions; and
2. Direct democracy – is a form of government wherein the
people will convene in a mass assembly and directly
formulate and expressed the will of the state.
 HOW GOVERNMENTS DETERMINE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

High Participation High Participation

Government Power

Citizen Participation
Government Power
Citizen Participation

General Citizens’
Government Power

Select Citizens’

Participation
Participation
Low or No Participation Low or No Participation Low or No Participation

Autocratic Oligarchic Democracy

 Forms of Government

3. Legitimacy
a. De jure. It is a form of government wherein it has
the peoples’ support and possess constitutional
mandate. Therefore, it is a legitimate government.
b. De facto – It is a form of government supported by
the people but no constitutional mandate or legal
support.
 Forms of Government
4. Executive and Legislative Relationship
a. Presidential – a form of government in
which executive branch exists separately
from the legislature. The president is
constitutionally independent of the
legislature because they are elected directly
by the people.
 Forms of Government
4. Executive and Legislative Relationship
b. Parliamentary – A form of government in which members of an
executive branch ( the cabinet and its leader – a prime minister,
premier, or chancellor ) are nominated to their positions by a
legislature or parliament and are directly responsible to it. The
members of executive branch are also members of the parliament or
the legislature. Moreover, this type of government can be dissolved at
will by the parliament (legislature) by means of a no confidence vote
or the leader of the cabinet may dissolve the parliament if it can no
longer function
 An Independent State
➢Has space or territory which has internationally recognized boundaries
( boundary disputes are okay).
➢Has people who live thereon an ongoing basis.
➢Has economic activity and an organized economy. A country regulates
foreign trade and domestic trade and issues money.
➢Has the power of social engineering's, such as education.
➢Has a transportation system for moving goods or services.
➢Has a government which provided public services and police power.
➢Has sovereignty. No other state should have power over the country’s
territory.
➢Has external recognition. A country has been “voted into the club” by
other countries
 Origins of the State
1. Evolution Theory – States evolved from family units.
The families grew into a large extended family that
heads of the family served as a government.
Eventually evolved into tribal councils with a hierarchy
of authority.
2. Force Theory – Governments, emerged when people
were brought under the control of some power. States
emerged from the conquest of other families or tribes.
 Origins of the State
3. Divine Right – Belief that Kings are chosen to rule the
Ancient state by a deity examples include Egyptians and
Aztecs. In 15th Century Europe, the idea is used by royalty
as the justification for the absolute domination,
therefore, to question the king was not only treason but
seen as a sin against God.
4. Social Contract – It existed during the 17th Century &
The Age of Enlightenment. People begin to challenge the
monarchy and the idea of Divine Right.
THOMAS HOBBES
❑ Men lived in a primitive
society where there is war
of every man against every
man.
❑ Man’s life was solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish and short.
❑ Out of this condition, the
State was born.
❑ To escape this cruel reality,
men would give up some
freedom to the State; in
return, the government
(state) would offer people
security through law &
order.
JOHN LOCKE JEAN-JACQUES
ROUSSEAU
❑Man sought peace and ❑Good person was
preservation of all corrupted
humanity. ❑Society is ruled by
❑Man produce a greed, lust and
standing rule to live by violence.
❑Man entered into ❑Nation-state got worse.
contract to assure ❑Called for the
safety and peace that agreement of the
life, liberty, and citizen to meet and
property may be discuss difficulties.
enjoyed to the fullest. ❑Consensus knew as the
❑The contract is two-way General Will