FOUR ELEMENTS OF THE STATE

There are four elements of the state and these are divided into two which are physical bases of the
state and political bases of the state.

Under the physical bases are population and territory, and under the political bases are government
and sovereignty.

POPULATION

•Is the complete set group of individuals, whether that group comprises a nation or a group of people
with a common characteristic.

•It is the people who makes up the state. Population is essential as no an uninhabited land can be called
a state.

•According to Plato, the ideal population of a state would be 5040, which is pretty specific and;

•According to Aristotle, the number should be neither too large nor too small. It should be large enough
to be self-sufficing and small enough to be well governed.

TERRITORY

• A territory is a defined as a geographical area that is owned and controlled by a government to

exercise state sovereignty and where people live socially and politically.

• The territory includes all of its land, water, and air.

• There is no state without its territory for it is the people's connection with a particular territory that
normally create the membership of state. Just like population, there is no definite size of a territory, It
can be big like Russia or it can be as small as the Vatican City.

GOVERNMENT

The third element of the state is government. Government is the system or a group of people governing
an organized community, generally a state. Once there is population in a territory and once there is a
common purpose, a system is develop to regulate the activities of the members. In the said system, a
person or group of persons are regarded to act and speak for the whole population.
SOVEREIGNTY

•The fourth essential element of the state is sovereignty which means supreme and final legal authority
above and beyond which no legal power exists.

•The word sovereignty came from the Latin word sovereinete which means supreme/above.
•Sovereignty has two aspects: Internal and external sovereignty.

Internal sovereignty means that the State has a supreme authority over all the people within the
territory. The people who abide their own will and fail to follow the law will be compelled to obey or
receive a threat of punishment.

External sovereignty means that the state is independent and free from foreign control. It means that
the sovereign is an independent entity, free from alien rule or control, in its conduct with other states
and international organization.

Sovereignty although the last element of the state is important for it is said that it is what distinguishes
the state from all other forms of human association.