James N.

Danziger
CHAPTER FIVE

STATES & NATIONS

1
THE STATE
 The modern legally founded conception of «the
state» used in the social sciences is of:
« a territorially bound sovereign entity »

3
 In political science the term «state» is also
commonly used to refer to:
«the set of organizational units and people that
performs the political functions for a national
territorial entity»
(eg ministries, armed forces, courts)

4
 Sovereignty
 «Sovereignty» refers to the:
«premise that each state has complete authority & is
the ultimate source of law within its own
boundaries.»
 The sovereign equality of states, «has legal
standing and moral force in international law» &
«is reflected in a fundamental principle of the
UN», but, «the reality of international politics is
that a state’s sovereign rights depend ultimately
on whether the state has sufficient power to 5
 Territorial Integrity
 The doctrine of Territorial Integrity is related
to the concept of sovereignty and holds that:
« a state has the right to resist and reject any
aggression, invasion, or intervention within its
territorial boundaries. »

However, several factors can complicate whether

or not there is general agreement as to the right
to defend territorial integrity:
6
 Disputes over Territorial
Integrity
 Contested boundaries: it’s not always agreed
where territorial boundaries are.
 Disagreement over legitimate rulers:
sometimes more than one group with different
supporters claims to have legitimacy in ruling the
state.
 Existence of serious human rights violations:
Increased acceptance that even the use of force in
or against states for the purpose of «humanitarian
intervention» is justified, when there are, «gross
7
 Structural-Functional
Definitions of the State
 Structural-functional definitions of the state focus on
«the key organizational structures that operate as ‘the
government’ and the key functions that the state
performs». From this perspective the state is:
«the organized institutional machinery for making and
carrying out political decisions and for enforcing the
laws and rules of the government».
 Weber argued one particular function makes the state
different to other types of organization: «its monopoly
on the legitimate use of force and coercion».
8
 Gabriel Almond’s 8 Requisite
Functions of the State
 Gabriel Almond argued there were 8 key functions states
need to carry out in order to survive:
1) Political Socialization – process of acquiring political orientation
2) Political Recruitment – bringing people into roles as political
activists
3) Political Communication – flow of political information through
society
4) Interest Articulation – communication of needs/wants from state
5) Interest Aggregation – transformation of needs/wants into few
coherent alternatives
6) Policy Making – establishing laws/policy decisions/value allocations
7) Policy Implementation – application of laws/policy decisions
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8) Policy Adjudication – interpreting/resolving disagreement regarding
THE NATION
 The Nation
 Danziger defines «the nation» as:
« a set of people with a deeply shared fundamental
identification […] a community of understanding,
of communication, and of trust» (based on factors
such as culture, religion, ethnicity, language,
kinship).
 Unlike the state its definition is not based on
legal or structural-functional premises, but
instead on powerful psychological and emotional
association. 11
 Nationalism
 Danziger defines «nationalism» as:
«a powerful commitment to the advancement of the
interests and welfare of an individual’s own nation,
with minimal concern about the conditions of those
outside the nation.»
 As such nationalism leads to a strong sense of
«us», (i.e. our nation), and «them», those who are
beyond the boundaries of our nation. Nationalism
can be particularly intense and when related to
religious, racial and/or ethnic differences
(ethnonationalism). 12
 The Nation-State (1)
 For nationalists, those who identify closely with
the nation and possess a strong sense of
nationalism, the ideal form of governance is the
«nation-state».
 The nation-state: «is an area that has both the
territorial boundaries of a single state and a
citizenry who all share the same primary national
identity.»
 In practice, however, the boundaries of nations
and states rarely overlap and national rivalries as
to who has possession of which territory can be a 13
 The Nation-State (2)
Nation State

Nation-State

14
 Today there are almost 200 member-states of the
United Nations, but many of these can be
considered «multi-national states» with multiple
significant groups identifying with different
nations. Some observers predict that continuing
nationalist diputes will continue to be a major
source of often, (though not always) violent
conflict and demands for the creation of new
states will eventually lead to the establishment of
many new states.

15
Caricature by V. Kremlev depicting the demands of Scottish nationalists for their own state & independence
from the UK. Available at http://rt.com/in-vision/cartoon/ayes-looking-scottish-independence/ 16
 THE
POLITICAL SYSTEM
 The concept of the «political system», most
closely associated with the work of political
scientist David Easton, is broader than that of the
nation or state; it tries to explain the «structures
and dynamics of organized politics at all levels»
and interdependence of all the components
within the system.
 With the different parts of the political system
being mutually dependent, effecting each other in
an interrelated way, changes in one part have an
impact on changes in others.
18
 For Easton, politics consists of activities related to the
«authoritative allocation of values for a society» ,
and this allocation occurs through the political
system.
 Based on this definition, positive political values
include:
a) abstract ideals that inspire or justify
political actions, (eg freedom, equality)
b) material goods & services (eg housing, food,
education, healthcare)
c) conditions (eg peace and security, order)
d) symbolic goods (eg status)
19
 By saying that political values are «allocated»
Easton means that choices must be made in
terms of who gets what. As explained by
Danziger allocation is : «the process by which
decisions are taken to grant values to some and
deny values to others».
 What makes the allocation of political values
«authoritative» is their «acceptance as
binding by those people affected by the
decisions»

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 Authority
 Why do people accept political «authority» of the state?
Different factors contribute to belief that decisions have
legitimacy, that they deserve voluntarily respect because
that is «the right thing to do», or because it is in our
interests to respect them. Sources of authority include:
 Belief that laws have been made rationally
 Long-standing traditional patterns of acceptance
 Charisma of individuals wielding authority
 Acceptance of a social contract with the state
 Being convinced through socialization
 Individual utility, or satisfaction with benefits gained
 Fear of Sanction, or punishment such as fines or prison
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 The Boundaries of the
Political System
 For Easton, the limits of the political system are
determined by the domain/area to which values
are being allocated to. In every political system
the boundaries of the public domain where
values are allocated for society may differ,
depending largely on the extent to which the
state’s role is defined. In some, for example, the
state may play very little role in family life,
whereas in others it may designate limits to the
number of children, or on the contrary provide
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 Easton’s Conceptualization of the
Political System Fe
ed
Extrasocietal Environment Lo bac
op k
Intrasocietal Environment
Fe
ed
L o ba c
Political op k
Political
Economic System
Economic Demands
Social OUTPUT
Social INPUTS S
Ecological
Supports
Ecological Other

Other

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* Modelled on Danziger’s Figure 5.1, p.127
 Terms in Easton’s Conceptualization
of Political System
 Environment = «all those activities not included within the state’s
activity domain»
 Demands = «wants or desires for particular value allocations»

 Supports = «actions by individuals or groups that indicate either

favorable or unfavorable orientations toward the political system»
 Conversion = «process by which political actors assess demands and
supports within the context of the relevant environmental forces &
then determine what values will be allocated to whom»
 Outputs = «implemented decisions of the political system»

[outcomes/impacts of outputs «alter aspects of the environment and

thus will affect the next round of demands & supports.]
 Feedback = «dynamics through which info. about the changing
nature of the political system & its environment is monitored by the
system» 24