Forms and Functions of

State and Non-state Institution

Introduction

Society consists of social structures and social institutions that are governed
by norms and values. Each individual in a society has specific roles and functions that
are meant to achieve balance in the society. However, the pursuit of interests
generates various conflicts in the society. Competition over resources is often the
source of conflict.
By the end of World War II, various humanitarian issues and crises took place.
More than 6 million was displaced at the end of war. Faced with this large-scale of
humanitarian crisis, international community responded with various measures
including the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950.
The large-scale of human predicament show how human rights are being
violated by the institutional actors such as government. This incidence leads to the
creation of state and nonstate institutions. These institutions became relevant in the
advent of globalization and urbanization.
After going through this module, you are expected to explain the different form
and functions of state and non-state institutions.

State
At the time of the initial development of the modern human rights system,
States were the dominant actors in the international arena.
A state is an organized political community acting under a government and
united by common set of laws. It uses absolute power in directing the path of a
society. It also uses complete political coerciveness, which may come in the form of
armed forces personnel, stricter laws, and rigid government policies in order to attain
its societal goals and objectives.
Market exchange is the primary form of economic subsistence of a state
wherein standardized currencies are being used to exchange commodities.
States differ in sovereignty, governance, geography, and interests. It may be
classified as sovereign if they are not dependent on, or subject to, any other power or
state. Other states are subject to external sovereignty where ultimate sovereignty lies
another state.
The concept of the state is different from the concept of government. A
government is the particular group of people that controls the state at a given time. In
other words, governments are the means through which the state power us employed
like applying the rule of law.
The concept of the state is also different from the concept of a nation, which
refers to a large geographical area and the people therein who perceives themselves as
having a common identity. The state is a political geopolitical entity; the nation is a
cultural or ethnic entity.
As a state, it consists of actors with varying interests and assertions, social
rules are implemented in the forms of laws. These laws are created to manage the
interaction among individuals and between the individuals and the state. As a citizen
of a country, an individual is subjected to the legal norms in the territory. These
norms may include paying taxes, rendering military services, and contributing to the
political life in the society.
The State intends to be a strong actor in the performance of the three
important political functions. The state, in full form,
1. maintains control over violence in its domain
2. allocates resources and rewards at its discretion, and
3. stands as the major focus of identity for the large majority of the people
under its authority.
Elements of the States
1. Population
It is the people who make the state. Population is essential for the state.
Without population there can be no State.
2. Territory
There can be no state without a fixed territory. People need territory to live
and organize themselves socially and politically. It may be remembered that
the territory of the states includes land, water and airspace.
3. Government
It is the organization or machinery or agency of the State which makes,
implements, enforces, and adjudicates the laws of the state.
4. Sovereignty
It is the most exclusive elements of State. Without sovereignty no state can
exist. State has the exclusive title and prerogative to exercise supreme
power over all its people and territory. It is the basis which the State
regulates all aspects of the life of the people living in its territory.
Forms of States
States come in a variety of forms that vary on who holds power, how positions
of leadership are obtained, and how authority is maintained. These are:
a. Authoritarian Government
Authoritarian governments differ in who holds power and in how
control they assume over those who govern. An example of this type is
Monarchy.
Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is
absolutely lodged with an individual, who is the head of the state, often
for life or until abdication. The person who heads a monarchy is called a
monarch. Some monarchs hold unlimited political powers while many
constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom and Thailand.
Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as head of state.
Totalitarianism is a political system that strives to regulate nearly
every aspect of public and private life. It theoretically permits no individual
freedom and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the
authority of the state. Modern examples of totalitarian states include the
Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, the
People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong, and North Korea under the
Kim Dynasty.
b. Oligarchic Government
An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests
with a small-elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth,
familruler, but several powerful people who rule. One common example is
theocracy.
Theocracy is a government by divine guidance or by official who are
regarded as divinely guided. Leaders are members of the clergy, and the
state’s legal system is based on religious law. Contemporary examples of
theocracies include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican.
c. Democratic Government
Democracy is a form of government in which the right to governs is
held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state. The two
principles of democracy are that all citizens have equal access to
power and that all citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and
liberties. People can either become country leaders through electoral
process or elect leaders who represent the core values and beliefs.
There are 99 democratic nations globally. Examples of democratic nations
are Philippines, Norway, New Zealand, United States of America, Canada,
Columbia, Italy, and South Africa.
Roles of the States
1. State provides security against external aggressions and war. For this
purpose, the state maintains an army.
2. State ensures security against internal disturbances disorders and crimes.
For this purpose, the state maintains police.
3. State legally grants and guarantees the rights of the people.
4. The state issues and regulates currency and coinage.
5. State undertakes steps for the creation of necessary conditions for the
socio-economic-politico-cultural development of the people.
6. State grants citizenship and protects their interests and rights.
7. State conducts foreign relations, foreign trade and economic relations.
8. State secures the goals of national interest in international relationsy, military, or religious
hegemony. An oligarchy does not have one clear

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, STATE INSTITUTIONS Certain organizations help keep these basic institutions in place.
Politically, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) helps the government maintain peace and order throughout its
territory. The Local Government Units (LGU) is created to cater the needs of the local barangays or communities.
The Department of Education (DepEd) ensures the quality of education based on the needs and norms the society.
The different branches of the government create, implement, and interpret the laws we use as guide for our
conduct. These organized, political bodies are called state institutions. Government-controlled state institutions
fulfil the wishes of the Philippine State: public service and public control. For example, the government may
declare martial law in a troubled area, and the AFP makes sure that this is strictly followed, whether the people like
it or not (De Leon 2008).

Nonstate Institutions
Nonstate institutions are people and/ or organization that participate in
international affairs and relations but are not affiliated with any state or nation.
These nonstate institutions include the following: bank and corporations,
cooperatives and trade unions, transnational advocacy groups, and development
agencies and international organizations. These nonstate institutions are equally
capable of influencing policy formation and implementation.

NON-STATE INSTITUTIONS Ideally, in a democratic country, major industries must be under the control of the state,
like banks, petroleum, transportation, and communication because they are vital in the economy of the country.
However, in the recent years, the said industries are being sold to private entities to carry away the burden
from its operation and maintenance. Today, private corporations headed by executives controls the major
industries in the country with very minimum government supervision, most of these are petroleum (Shell,
Caltex and Petron), telecommunication (Smart, Globe and PLDT), transportation (Cebu Pacific and Philippine
Air Lines), etc. These entities significantly affect the lives of the people either directly or indirectly (Baleña
2016).

Meanwhile, corporations based on profit (ABS-CBN, GMA 7 and PTV 5) manage most television networks in
the country. They are duty bound to serve the public by giving current news and information but more so
entertainment to attract viewers. The more viewers a station has, the more product advertisements coming in, and
thus the profit comes along. This is why television networks in the country are becoming antagonistic as shown in
their publicity ratings.

Moreover, if you wish to have a car but do not have the enough money to buy, one can find a bank that offers
car loan arrangements. If one wishes to own a business but hesitant to fail, he or she may consider the
stock market and be a shareholder in a corporation. If a worker wants a better compensation, he or she may join
and be part of a trade union. These are just some examples of non-state institutions: non-governmental
organizations operating to satisfy many of our short-term and long-term, small-scale and large-scale, and tangible
and intangible demands (De Leon 2008).

Non-state institutions include the following: banks, corporations, trade unions, cooperatives, development
agencies, civil organizations, and transnational advocacy groups.
1. Banks help us keep our money, avail different kinds of loan, and exchange currencies. The accumulated money
of the bank is invested to some projects to gain profit; this is how banks pay their workers and
depositors’ interest depending on the agreed terms.
Moreover, banks help the country by providing financial assistance to those entrepreneurs who wanted to
create or expand their business. By doing so, they also provide job opportunities among local citizens.
Although there are state and non-state banks in the country, both types serve their respective purposes. Yet,
most depositors choose state banks because the government itself backs it up, thus the possibility of
bankruptcy is very small. On the other hand, corporations or group of individuals manages non-state banks.
Although ensured by the government through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, it is but only to a minimum
extent. Like in the case of certain banks, when a bank declares bankruptcy, each depositor could only receive
only a portion of their deposit (Contreras et al. 2016). Examples of banks include the Bank of the
Philippine Islands, Metrobank, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC).
2. A corporation is owned by a group of people, but has a separate legal identity (the owners of a corporation
are not responsible for its own debts). Corporations offer stocks (determines level of ownership), as
well as bonds (allows one to earn interest). These generate large amounts of capital, which is needed for
growth (Contreras et al. 2016). Some well-known corporations are San Miguel Corporation, Accenture, and
Shell. Since a corporation is associated with various industries, it needs a huge work force to run and operate.
This provides job opportunities to number of workers in the country and thus lessen the problem of poverty.
3. Trade unions. There are some entrepreneurs who are only after for profit, and they tend to maximize
working hours and minimize wages as much as possible. This is where the trade union steps in. They look after
the well-being of the workers. Collectively, they raise issues such as low salary, lack of compensation,
etc. to the management that sometimes ends up with work “stoppage” or strike until the demands of
both sides are met. (Contreras et al. 2016). Trade unions are created to protect the labor force of the country.
Workers are essential to the creation of goods and services for the citizenry. In the Philippines, the
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines has the largest membership.
4. Cooperatives are made up of people with common interest who agreed to work together for easy, safe, and
affordable access to commodities, loans, and other services. They are created to help and empower one
another with a minimum help from the government (Contreras et al. 2016). Farmers’ cooperatives and
teachers’ cooperatives are common examples.
5. Development agencies promote progress by engaging in projects, policy-making, and dialogue
(Contreras et al. 2016). Some countries with active agencies in the Philippines are Japan (JICA), Canada
(CIDA), and U.S.A. (USAID). Those providing financial assistance include the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Development agencies works as a bank that provides financial assistance to important projects. The creation
of bridge that connects one province to another, or road construction that helps ordinary farmers
transport their products may be put into reality through the help of these agencies.
6. Civil organizations include academic institutions, research teams, mass media, religious organizations, and
people’s organizations. They provide facts about the life’s various realities to influence policy-making
(Contreras et al. 2016). These organizations are created to expose the conditions of the marginalized sector of
the society by using mass media as its platform as they raise critical issues to the government.
7. Transnational advocacy groups influence the government to take action on matters commonly neglected. A
group maybe a national or an international organization that promotes and advocates progress and
development related to particular issues of the society. (Contreras, et al., 2016). Greenpeace and Human
Rights Watch are some examples.
What is the importance of each non-state institution to our country? Answer this question by completing the
unfinished statements below.
a. Banks allow us t0_____________________________________________________________ _________

b. Corporations give us the chance to ___________________________________________ _____________

c. Trade unions help workers to _________________________________________________ ______________

d. Cooperatives can make cheaper goods and services for us to __________________ _______________________
e. Development agencies transform our _________________________________________ _________________

f. Civil Organizations can be useful in __________________________________________ ____________________ g.

Transnational advocacy groups raise awareness about ______________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

2. Are these non-state institutions connected to the government? If yes, how? If no, why not?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the functions of the government in relation to its people?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How do non-state institutions help the government in performing its functions?
______________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What do you think will happen if we do not have non-state institutions?

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