State:

Origin and Evolution, Components,

Functions

M. Saleem Kakar
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State: Definitions

1) “A politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite

territory. especially : one that is sovereign.”

2) The state is “a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction

within defined territorial borders, and exercises authority through a set of
permanent institutions.”— Andrew Heywood.
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State: Features
The key features of the state are:
1) The state is sovereign. It exercises absolute and unrestricted power, in that it stands above all other associations and
groups in society. Thomas Hobbes conveyed the idea of sovereignty (see p. 58) by portraying the state as a ‘leviathan’,
a gigantic monster, usually represented as a sea creature.
2) State institutions are recognizably ‘public’, in contrast to the ‘private’ institutions of civil society. Public bodies are
responsible for making and enforcing collective decisions, while private bodies, such as families, private businesses
and trade unions, exist to satisfy individual interests.
3) The state is an exercise in legitimation. The decisions of the state are usually (although not necessarily) accepted as
binding on the members of society because, it is claimed, they are made in the public interest, or for common good;
the state supposedly reflects the permanent interests of society.
4) The state is an instrument of domination. State authority is backed up by coercion; the state must have the capacity
to ensure that its laws are obeyed and that transgressors are punished. For Max Weber, the state was defined by its
monopoly of the means of ‘legitimate violence’.
5) The state is a territorial association. The jurisdiction of the state is geographically defined, and it encompasses all
those who live within the state’s borders, whether they are citizens or non-citizens. On the international stage, the state
is therefore regarded (at least, in theory) as an autonomous entity.
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State: Origin and Evolution

o No fix date of state origin and its evolution over the course of time.
o Scholars put forward different theories of the origin the state, which are:
1) The historical and Evolutionary Theory
2) The Theory of Divine Origin
3) The Patriarchal vs Matriarchal Theories
4) The Theory of Force
5) The Theory of Social Contract
o Scholars broadly divided the evolutionary phase of state as under:
1) Oriental Empire
2) Greek City State
3) Roman World Empire
4) Feudal State
5) National State — it can be further divided into two:
1) Absolute Monarchy
2) Democracy
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State: Components
1 Population
2 Territory
3 Government
4 Sovereignty
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State: Functions

1) Protection
2) Taxation (Revenue Generation)
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State: Types
1) Republics
2) Kingdom
3) Communist
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

State, Nation and Nation-State: Clarifying Misused Terminology

 What is a State?
A State is an independent, sovereign government exercising control over a certain spatially defined and bounded
area, whose borders are usually clearly defined and internationally recognized by other states.
A) States are tied to territory
1) Sovereign or state as absolute ruler over territory 2) Have clear borders
3) Defends and controls its territory within those borders 4) Is recognized by other countries (diplomatic
recognition, passports, treaties, etc.)
B) States have bureaucracies staffed by state’s own personnel
1) Has a national bureaucracy staffed by government personnel (legal system, educational system, hierarchical governmental
units, etc.)
C) States monopolize certain functions within its territory (sovereign)
1) Controls legitimate use of force within its territory 2) Controls money at national scale (prints currency; collects taxes)
3) Makes rules within its territory (law, regulations, taxes, citizenship, etc.) 4) Controls much information within its
territory
 State:
Origin and Evolution, Components, Functions and Types.

States try to form nations within their borders (through symbols, education, ‘national interest,’ etc.).
So, what is a Nation?
A nation is a group of people who see themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit based on shared cultural or
historical criteria. Nations are socially constructed units, not given by nature. Their existence, definition, and
members can change dramatically based on circumstances. Nations in some ways can be thought of as
“imagined communities” that are bound together by notions of unity that can pivot around religion, ethnic
identity, language, cultural practice and so forth. The concept and practice of a nation work to establish who
belongs and who does not (insider vs. outsider). Such conceptions often ignore political boundaries such that a
single nation may “spill over” into multiple states. Furthermore, states ≠ nations: not every nation has a state
(e.g., Kurds; Roma; Palestine). Some states may contain all or parts of multiple nations.
And what about a Nation-State?
A Nation-State is the idea of a homogenous nation governed by its own sovereign state—where each state
contains one nation. This idea is almost never achieved.