LESSON 4

STATES, NATIONS,
AND GLOBALIZATION
 ▪ A state is a community of persons more or
less numerous, occupying a definite portion of
territory, free from external control and having
a government to which the inhabitants render
habitual obedience (De Leon, 2009).

THE ROLE OF THE STATE

 ▪ People refers to the inhabitants living the
state. There is no specific number of persons
to be considered a state, but they must be
numerous enough for self-defense and must
consist of male and female.

THE ROLE OF THE STATE

 ▪ Territory refers to the physical attributes of
the state in terms of boundaries and size of
land. The land must be big enough to support
the needs of the people.

THE ROLE OF THE STATE

 ▪ Government refers to the aggregate of authority
which governs society. It comes from the Latin word
gubernaculum which literally means “rudder”, the
steering wheel of a ship. Thus, the function of the
government is to guide the state towards its
political and economic destination in the same way
that the rudder guides the ship towards its course.

THE ROLE OF THE STATE

 ▪ Sovereignty refers to the power of state to chart
its own destiny without the interference of other
states. There are two kinds of sovereignty: external
and internal. External sovereignty means the state
cannot be dictated by other states as regards its
internal affairs while internal sovereignty is the
coercive power of the state to be obeyed its
citizens.

THE ROLE OF THE STATE

 THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE
1. DIVINE RIGHT It posits the view that the state is a creation of God.

It posits the view that the state originates from the family
2. PATRIARCHAL
to a tribe, a clan and later, transforming into a state.
THEORY

It posits the view that a group of warriors imposed their

3. FORCE THEORY
will and formed a state.

It posits the view that the state was formed due to

4. SOCIAL
agreements or contracts between the government the
CONTRACT THEORY government and the governed.

5. ECONOMIC It posits the view that the state arose out of the needs of
THEORY the people which bounded them together to form a state.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION

1. The Difference in the elements

The State has essentially four elements –
population, territory, government, and
sovereignty. In the absence of even one element,
a State cannot really be considered a State. On
the other hand, a nation is a group of people
who have a strong sense of unity and common
consciousness.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION
2. State is a Political Organization while Nation is a social,
cultural, psychological, emotional, and political unity.
The State is a political organization which
satisfies the security and welfare needs of its
people. It is concerned with external human
actions. It is legal entity. On the other hand, a
Nation is a united unit of population which is full
of emotional, spiritual, and psychological bonds.
A nation has no business with the physical needs
of the people.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION

3. Territory is essential for the State but not for a Nation

It is essential for each State to possess a fixed
territory. It is the physical element of the State.
State is a territorial entity. But for a nation
territory is not an essential requirement. A
nation can exist even without a fixed territory.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION

4. Sovereignty is essential for State but not for Nation.

Sovereignty is an essential element of the State. In

the absence of sovereignty, the State loses its
existence. It is the element of sovereignty which
makes the state different from all other
associations of the people. It is not essential for a
nation to possess sovereignty. However, each
nation always aspires to be sovereign and
independent of the control of every other nation.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION
5. Nation can be bigger scope than the State.

The State is limited to a fixed territory. Its

boundaries can increase or decrease but the
process of change is always very complex.
However, a nation may or may not remain within
the bounds of a fixed territory. Nation is a
community based on common ethnicity, history and
traditions and aspirations. Obviously, its
boundaries can easily extend beyond the
boundaries of the State.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION
6. There can be two or more Nationalities living in
one State.

There can be two or more than two nations

within a single State. The United States of
America for example is an amalgamation of
nations. Most of the modern states are
multinational states.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION

7. Nation is more stable than State.

A nation is more stable than the State. When

sovereignty ends, the State dies, but not the
Nation. A nation can survive even without
sovereignty. For example, after their defeat in
World War II, both Germany and Japan lost their
sovereign statuses outside powers began to
control them. They ceased to exist as States, but
they continued to live as nations.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION
8. A State can be created while a Nation is always
a result of evolution.

A State can be created with a conscious

endeavor of the people. Physical elements play
an important role in the birth of a State. A
nation on the other hand, is a unity of the people
which emerges slowly and steadily. No special
efforts go into the making of a nation.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION
9. The State uses police power (force) for preserving is
unity and integrity, the Nation is bound by a strong
cultural and historical skills.
The state exercises police power. Those who dare to
disobey it are punished. A nation does not have a
police power or force or coercive power rather, it is
backed by moral and traditional power. A nation
survives on the power of sense of unity of the people.
A nation appeals, the State order; a nation
persuades, a States coerces; and nation boycotts,
the State punishes.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STATE AND NATION

10. A single nation can consist of many states.

There can be one nation comprising of many

states. A single nation may cut among many
states specially if such nation merely migrated to
their neighboring states and became the
dominant population. An example if this is the
Arab nation which consists of many Middle East
states like Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, and
Yemen to name a few.
THE STATE AND GLOBALIZATION
▪ The term globalization involves three different
aspects in the world economy. And none are more of
profound relevance than that of Ngaire Woods (2001)
who categorized them into: internationalization which
is the increase in economic transactions across
borders, technological revolution-the effect of new
electronic gadgets that allow global operation without
regard for location, distance and borders; and
liberalization which refers to the policies undertaken
by states which makes globalization possible.
THE STATE AND GLOBALIZATION
▪ This was brought about when large parts of
the globe decided to abandon economic
policies of self-imposed isolation from
international commerce. This may have been
due to the failure of other economic
movements like the Fordist mass modes of
production and the Keynesian principle of
government intervention in trade and
commerce in the 1970s.
THE STATE AND GLOBALIZATION
▪ Accordingly, unhindered movement of
capital, goods and services across national
frontiers leads to an optimal and efficient
allocation of scarce resources. Thus, without
governments imposing limitations and strict
rules and regulations, resources are
produced more efficiently, traded with
greater efficacy, and consumed by more
people in the world.
THE STATE AND GLOBALIZATION
▪ A globalized economy is one which distance nor
national borders impede economic truncations. This
would be a world where the costs of transport and
communications were zero and the barriers created
by differing national jurisdictions had vanished. These
distinctions include more rapid communications,
market liberalization, and global integration of the
production of goods and services. Indeed, it is world
where state borders no longer matter, state identifies
are no longer significant and global differences had
disappeared.