POLITICS AND THE STATE

WITH GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION

Politics is the struggle for power.
It came from the Greek word “Polis” which means
city-state.
• CONCEPTS OF POLITICAL CONTROL
1. Power – is the ability to make others comply by using force or
threat of force.
2. Influence- is the ability to make others comply without the use of
force or threat of force.
3. Authority-is the right to exercise the power and influence
associated with a particular position.
4. Legitimacy- is the condition of being considered correctly in placed.
STATE
• -is a community of persons ,more or less numerous, permanently
occupying a definite portion of territory, free from external control ,and
possessing an organized government to which a great number of
inhabitants render habitual obedience.
Indispensable Elements of the State
1. PEOPLE - should be composed of both sexes and the number of people
in the state should be large enough to support themselves and at the
same time small enough to be governed.

2. TERRITORY- should be definite and permanently occupied.

3. SOVEREIGNTY- 2 kinds of sovereignty

a] external sovereignty- freedom from external control
b]internal sovereignty- is the power to command obedience within the
limits of the territory.

4.GOVERNMENT- it must be organized and effective.

5. RECOGNITION- it is given by the international community.

STATE VS NATION
State is a political concept while nation is a racial concept.

STATE VS GOVERNMENT
State is a broader concept because the government is only an element
of the state
INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE
1.Power of Eminent Domain - power of the state to take private property for public use with just
compensation.
2.Power of Taxation - power of the state to impose taxes.
3.Police Power - power of the state to regulate behavior.

GOVERNMENT is the governing power in the state . It is composed of three branches, namely:
1. Executive - to implement /enforce laws.[ President and his Cabinet]
2. Legislative - to enact , alter and repeal laws.[Congress compose of the Senate and the House
of Representative]
3. Judiciary - to interpret and apply laws.[ Supreme Court which is the only court created by
the Constitution and Statutory courts which are created by laws]

PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS AND SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCE

KINDS OF GOVERNMENT
• According to Aristotle [ The Politics]
1.Monarchy - rule by one.
A] as to source of power
a]Hereditary
b] Elective
B] as to character
a] Absolute
b] Limited/ Constitutional
2. Rule by the Few
A] Aristocracy - rule of the few good and best individuals.
B] Oligarchy - rule of the wealthy few.
3. Democracy - rule of the majority [ ½ +1 or 50%+1 or simply more than half}
A] Direct/Pure - characterized by not having representatives.
B] Indirect/Republican/Representative - characterized by having representatives
* ACCORDING TO DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS
A] UNITARY - power is centralized.
B] FEDERAL - power is decentralized.
• According to legality , legitimacy or constitutionality
A] De Jure - generally accepted by the people and its existence is in accordance with the
constitution.
B] De Facto – not generally accepted by the people and its existence is not in
accordance with the constitution.
• According to the relationship of the executive and legislative
PRESIDENTIAL PARLIAMENTARY
*President is the Head of the State * Prime Minister is the Head of the Gov’t.
and the Head of the Government but not the Head of the State
* President is directly elected by *Prime Minister is elected by the
the people Parliament [ law-making body]
*President has a definite term *Prime Minister has an indefinite term
*President can be removed from office *Prime Minister can be removed from office
through the impeachment process by losing the Parliament’s vote of confidence
*Political party is not responsible for the *Political party is responsible for the failure of
failure of the President the Prime Minister.
######### WHAT IS THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT AND WHY?
THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE
1.Divine theory
2.Necessity and Force theory
3. Instinctive theory
4. Kinship theory
5. Social Contract theory
6.Historical/Evolutionary theory
 CONSTITUTION AND LAW
* Constitution is a written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the state are
established , limited and defined and by which these powers are distributed among the
several departments for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the body politic.
*Law is an ordinance of reason created for the common good by competent authority and
must be promulgated.
CONSTITUTION LAW
*Supreme/highest law * Based from the Constitution
*Contains general principles *Contains details to implement the GP
*Directly enacted by the people * Enacted by the people’s representative
*Difficult to amend * Easy to amend
KINDS OF CONSTITUTION
A] as to form
a] Written – has a compact written form/ codified into a single document
b] Unwritten - literally written but parts are scattered
B] As to origin
a] Conventional/Enacted - has a specific date of inauguration
b] Cumulative/Evolved - has no specific date of inauguration
C] As to ease/difficulty of amending
a] Rigid/inelastic - difficult to amend
b] Flexible/Elastic - easy to amend
ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A TYPICAL WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
1.Constitution of Liberty - part discussing the rights of the people[ ART.III- BILL OF RIGHTS]
2.Constitution of Government - part discussing the structure and powers of the government[ ART.VI - THE
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT ; ART.VII - THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT ; ART. VIII - THE JUDICIAL
DEPARTMENT]
3.Constitution of Sovereignty - part discussing the manner of changing the constitution
[ ART. XVII - AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS ]
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CONSTITUTION
1. Brief 2. Broad 3. Definite