INTRODUCTION

Aristotle believed that the state evolved from monarchy to

oligarchy, from oligarchy to tyranny, and from tyranny to
democracy.
According to Stephen Leacock, “State is not an invention: it is
a growth, an evolution, the result of a gradual process,
running throughout the known history of man, and receding
into the remote and unknown past.”
GREEK CITY STATE OR POLIS
After the Oriental Empires, which centered on tyranny,
religion, caste and creed, arose the Greek City State. This
state severed its ties with autocracy and despotism. Main
points of this system are as follows;
 The land occupied by the ancient Greece was of such
geography that consisted of mountains and seas thus
forming many small states, the largest amongst them
was Sparta. That is why this type of system flourished in
that area.
 Greeks were people who excelled in the fields of
politics, philosophy and art.
 They loved liberty and freedom in every aspect of life.
 Their minds were not conservative thus, they were not
bound by the shackles of religion and priesthood.
 Their political system was well established and existed
for a long period.
 The forms of government evolved starting from
monarchy then aristocracy and lastly democracy.
 The democratic system in the city states can be visibly
seen in the famous poleis like Athens, Sparta, Corinth,
Thebes, Syracuse, Aegina, Rhodes, Argos, Eretria, and
Elis.
 Almost 1000 poleis existed in the ancient Greece.
 Philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon
etc. made the establishment of intellectual and
thoughtful minds of the people. They focused on the
upbringing of human minds in politics, diplomacy and
philosophy.
 Their democratic system consisted of equal
representation of the citizens in vote casting, political
offices, bearing arms and all other areas of social and
political affairs.
 They are said to have established a somewhat better
governing system that was more stable and permanent
as compared to the Oriental empire.
 However, there were many potholes in this system.
1. As the people were freedom loving there arose rivalry
amongst different classes or parties.
2. The slaves were given no representation or privilege.
They just existed to serve their masters and nothing
more.
3. There was no unity amongst the city states which led to
many wars and conflicts e.g.: Macedonian wars.
4. System was not universal. This means that slaves being a
citizen of the city state should have been given equal
rights but the system did not work on this.
5. Greeks considered themselves above all. They
considered other people inferior to themselves.
CONCLUSION
This state was the first step in democratic establishment of
the people. The Greeks formed a system of government
keeping in view the rights of its citizens. However, it failed
in the respect of making this system universal which was
its biggest flaw.
FEUDAL STATE
Feudalism was given birth due to the combination of legal
and military customs of Europe i.e. France, Italy, Germany
etc. These states were basically real estates formed after
the fall of Roman Empire. The Germanic tribes stablished
their own big or small estates that rooted this state
system. Some basic points of this system are;
 In the medieval Europe, feudalism started to root. It
basically means ‘A way of structuring society around
relationships from holding of land in exchange for
loyalty and services.’
 A feudal state is run by a lord who thinks of himself as
the chosen representative of god. This is called the
‘Divine Right’.
 The people living in the feudal state are serfs or clergy
who provide their services to the lord. There are
different levels of the people of a feudal state.
 The hierarchical levels are:
1. King / Monarch.
 2. Knights/Vassals.
3. Barons/Nobles.
4. Villeins/Peasants/Serfs.
 It flourished between 9th and 15th century in the
medieval Europe.
 This system of state governance is similar to aristocracy.
 It was more beneficial for the elite class as the serfs
provided their services in all fields while in exchange the
rulers provide a system of protection.
 This establishes a system of stability amongst the
people.
 The demerits of this system are;
1. The lower serving class is deprived of liberty, freedom
and independence.
2. There is no unity amongst the people due to class
difference i.e. ruling class(Lords, Kings, Emperors) and
the lower serving class(Serfs and Peasants).
3. There is no single authority to govern the ruling class.
Thus, this state lacks sovereignty.
4. The circle of lords, peasants and fief continues for
generations.
5. There was confusion and conflicts in law and authority.
In Europe after the end of Middle Ages thus system was
replaced by modern national State as a single head took
charge by subduing other lords.
CONCLUSION
This state is close to monarchy in some sense but it forms
a system of give and take. The peasants were the workers
while the lords were the provider.
THE NATION STATE
This form of state began in the early 1500s when the
European merchants began sailing around the world for
the first time. In this state, the cultures, customs,
languages and religions combine and shape the
government. The main points are;
 The Nation State is a system of government in which
people of similar or common identity live together
inside a country with firm borders and a single
government.
 According to one definition, "a nation state is a
sovereign state of which most of its subjects are
united also by factors which defined a nation such as
language or common descent."
 The fundamental part of a nation is the state i.e. the
body of government and the nation i.e. the people.
 The idea that people of a country are connected to
each other is called nationalism.
 It has led to the strengthening of international
relations. People of different cultures form countries
and later sign treaties or policies for the betterment
of their citizens.
  It exists in many forms such as Absolute Monarchy,
Representative Democracy, Colonial Empires, Fascist
Dictatorships, and Communist States etc.
 Nation states must also have shared national culture.
This includes common language e.g. Pakistan has
Urdu as lingua franca, culture, religion, customs,
traditions, history, aspirations etc.
 There were two main forms of nation state.
1. Absolute monarchy
It was the first form of government in the nation state. It
promoted the absolute authority of the king. It was
formed due to the decay of Medieval Church,
Renaissance and Uprising of middle classes against the
Feudal Lords. The power of the king was due to his
military excellence and the amount of gunpowder
present.
2. National democracies
The political and Economic caused made the state’s
democratic in nature. Its important cause was Industrial
Revolutions after which people began exercising their
rights. Its main features were imperial expansionism and
exploitation. Its characteristics included Universal Adult
Franchise, Self-Governance and Individualism.
Examples of how some states implemented it:
England in the form of constitutional struggle between
Stuart Kings and the Parliament. France in French
Revolutions 1989. Germany, Italy and Russia went from
Monarchy to Democracy by means of immense
bloodshed.
  There are some exceptional cases in the nation
states for example United Kingdoms, Israel,
Netherlands and Pakistan.
 The rights of minorities are usually not provided
which gives rise to violence and lawlessness in such
states.
CONCLUSION
The nation states are still evolving and these states will
continue to do so. The future of state might be globalization
or the complete eradication of states having governance of
human ethics and rights.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
The Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic,
cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time.
It was one of the largest empires in world history. The
longevity and vast extent of the empire ensured the lasting
influence of Latin and Greek language, culture, religion,
inventions, architecture, philosophy, law and forms of
government over the empire's descendants.
 The Roman Empire was one of the largest in history,
with contiguous territories throughout Europe, North
Africa, and the Middle East.
 It had a government headed by emperors and large
territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in
Europe, Africa and Asia.
 The institutions and culture of Rome had a profound
and lasting influence on the development of language,
 religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of
government in the territory it governed, particularly
Europe.
 The three major elements of the Imperial Roman state
were the central government, the military, and
provincial government.
 Plebian were the lower class while patricians were the
upper class. The rights and opportunities were mostly
given to patricians.
 Later in early 700s equal representation was given to
both classes.
MERITS
 The Roman Empire was the first one to initiate the
application of universal law i.e. all citizens are equal and
so should be given equal representation.
 They had strong administrative machinery.
 They preserved peace and order over Asia, Africa and
Europe. This was a massive empire to rule over.
 They promoted Roman law and international law.
DEMERITS
 They were denied the provision of Political Liberty.
 Destruction of self-governance.
 Slavery and Despotism were spreading.
 Deprived ruling class.
 Heavy Taxation.
 Religious Prosecutions.
 Soulless Bureaucracy.