Modern States

Objectives

1. To discuss the theoretical origin of

state
2. To discuss elements of state
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this Chapter, you should

be able to:
1. define state
2. identify elements of state
3. explain the origin of state
 Trivia Questions

How many states are there in the world?

• 193 registered under the United Nations
(UN)
• non-member states – observer status –
Vatican City & Palestine
How does a state become a member of
UN?

• An application is submitted to the Secretary-General with a formal letter

accepting the contents of the UN Charter

• The Security Council considers the application. Any recommendation for

admission must receive the affirmative votes of 9 of the 15 members of the
Council, provided that none of its five permanent members — China,
France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland and the United States of America — have voted against
the application

• If the Council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented

to the General Assembly for consideration. A two-thirds majority vote is
necessary in the Assembly for admission of a new State

• Membership becomes effective the date the resolution for admission is

adopted
Source: http://www.un.org/en/members/about.shtml
 Trivia Questions

How many new states have been created

since 1990?
• 33 states
– 15 new states after the dissolution of USSR in
1991 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
– 5 new states after the dissolution of Yugoslavia
in the 1990s – Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia,
Macedonia, Serbia Montenegro, Slovenia
– Namibia (South Africa) – 1990
– Yemen (North and South Yemen) – 1990
– Germany (East and West Germany) – 1990
– Marshall Islands (US) – 1991
– Micronesia (US) - 1991
– Eritrea (Ethiopia) – 1993
– Palau (US) – 1994
– Timor Leste (Indonesia) – 2002
– Montenegro (Serbia Montenegro) – 2006
– Serbia (Serbia Montenegro) – 2006
– Kosovo (Serbia) – 2008
– South Sudan -- 2011
 Trivia Questions

Which state is the smallest?

Vatican City
– 0.44 square km
– 826 population
What is the difference between a state
and a nation?
• a state is referred to as government
structure
• a nation means the characteristics of
the population i.e. languages used,
historical & cultural background, &
sense of nationhood
• nation-state?
• “a sovereign entity dominated by a
single nation” i.e. Japan, China, etc
Definition of a state
- Harold Laski: “a territorial society divided
into a government and subjects claiming,
within its allotted physical area, a
supremacy over all other institutions”
- Gabriel Almond: “system of interactions to
be found in all independent societies which
perform the functions of integration and
adaptation by means of employment or
threat of employment of more or less
legitimate compulsion”
• Robert Dahl, influenced by Weber, viewed
the state as “a collection of individuals
occupying role positions (those of
governing authority) and acting as a group
to govern”
• Giddens defines a state as “a political
organisation whose rule is territorially
ordered and which is able to mobilise the
means of violence to sustain that rule”
Elements of state
• population
• territory
• government
• sovereignty
Population
• nationality, i.e. Malaysian?
• who are those people we call
Malaysians?
• sense of nationhood
• bahasa Malaysia or bahasa
Melayu?
Territory
• a distinct geographical area
• the Palestinians & Israelites
struggle to acquire their own land
• wars are often used to expand
territories i.e. series of conflict in
Middle East between Israel and its
Arab neighbours
Government
• no government means anarchy
i.e. Somalia
• an organised structure of
administration
• normally “top-down” authority
• i.e. Government of Malaysia
Sovereignty/Independence
• recognition of the existence of a
state
• recognition is granted with the
establishment of foreign embassies &
exchanges of ambassadors i.e.
question of Sabah
• states whose existence are doubtful
are rarely recognised by the
international community
Countries that might exist soon
Watch video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=67o8ikDbrI4
Origin of the state

• Divine origin
• Force theory
• Social Contract theory
• Patriarchal & matriarchal theories
• Historical & evolutionary theories
Divine origin
• political authority
• state was created by God & governed
by His deputy or vicegerent
• obedience to God
• ruler above the people & law
• i.e. Iran, Bangladesh & Afghanistan -
all are theocratic (“the rule of God)
states
- divine rights of kings
- monarchy is divinely ordained &
king draws authority from God
- monarchy is hereditary
- king answerable to God
- disobedience to king means
disobedience to God
- i.e. Roman Empire, Vatican,
Queen of Great Britain, King
James I
Force theory
- subordination of the weak to the
strong
- a group of people organise
themselves to wage war against others
- the winning group appoints its tribal
chief to become king & create their
own territory
- “survival of the fittest”
- i.e. Hitler & Mussolini
Social contract
• no bond of political cohesion - man is free
& independent & does not subject to man-
made laws
• man obeys the law of nature - meaning
based on his own interpretation &
determination
• results in man feeling insecure about his
surrounding (personal security & property,
etc)
• man has to establish a common agreement
with his fellowmen - laws of the state (civil
rights) replaces natural law
- Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
- Leviathan (1651)
- “people in the state of nature ceded
their rights to create sovereignty in return
for their protection and a more
functional society”
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
- The Social Contract (1762)
- popular sovereignty which includes the
“general will” of the individuals of the
state
- emphasises what is good for society as a
whole
- John Locke (1632-1704)
- Treatises on Civil Government (1690)
- uncertainties in the state of nature: how to
apply the law of reason; absence of a
common judge to settle disputes; no proper
authority to execute those decisions
- 2 types of contracts: social & governmental
- social contract helps establish a civil
society & governmental contract selects a
ruler
- no surrender of rights - only the transfer of
a few given rights
- John Locke (1632-1704)
- law must be the expression of
the will of the people & must be
consistent with the law of reason
- people are the source of all
governmental authority
- people’s right to revolution in
which the king can be dethroned
if he fails to fulfill the terms in the
contract
Patriarchal & matriarchal theory
- patriarchal
- expansion of the family
- marriages ensure the
establishment of new families
- families turn into clans and tribes
- the father holds the authority
- matriarchal
- wife’s rule
- power of female (maternal
authority)
- females succeed to property &
power
Historical & evolutionary theory
• “state is a product of growth – a slow & steady
evolution extending over a long period of time &
transforms itself into a modern state”
• 5 factors which lead to the rise & growth of state:
- kinship – family, clan & tribe
- religion – unity, ancestor-worship
- property & defense – economic growth
and the means to defend it
- force – military life
- political consciousness – protection &
order
References

“Nature and Characteristics of State” (Chapter 5,

Moten & Islam, Introduction to Political Science)

“States” (Chapter 4, Roskin, et. al, Political Science:

an Introduction)