CHAPTER FOUR

STATE, GOVERNMENT AND

CITIZENSHIP
 Understanding State
What is a state?
A political unit with sovereignty.

A political entity that exercises sovereign

jurisdiction within given territorial borders.

A system of centralized rule that tends to dominate

political life in all its forms.

Cont…
An organized body of people occupying defined territory
and living under government entirely free from external
control.

A political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction

within defined territorial border, and exercise authority
through a set of permanent institutions.
State is the highest and most powerful political organization
of society.
When society and other associations are integrated into one
unit, it is called state
 Cont…
• The state is a way of organizing the collective
life of a given society

• the state is the basis of all legitimate power

over its people.

• It is a power over and above the people

Cont…
The state has been understood in four quite different
ways. These include:
Idealist perspective,
A functionalist perspective,
An organizational perspective and an
International perspective.
1. The Idealist Approach
Hegel identified three moments of social existence:
These include;
1. The family: a particular altruism operates that
encourages people to set aside their own interests for
the good of their children or elderly relatives.
2. Civil society : a sphere of ‘universal egoism’ in
which individuals place their own interests before
those of others.
3. The state: an ethical community underpinned by
mutual sympathy – ‘universal altruism’.
2. Functionalist Approaches
The state focuses on the role or purpose of state

institutions.
The central function of the state is invariably the

maintenance of social order.

The state being defined as set of institutions that

uphold order and deliver social stability.

3. The Organizational View
Set of institutions that are recognizably ‘public`:
(responsible for social existence and are funded at the
public‘s expense)
This definition distinguishes clearly between the state
and civil society.
The state comprises the various institutions of
government:
 the bureaucracy,
 the military,

 the police,

 the courts, and

 the social security system etc.

4. The International Approach
The state primarily is an actor on the world stage.
State viewed as the basic ‘unit’ of international politics.
The international view deals with the state‘s outward-
looking face but not inward (domestic)
Its relations with other states and its ability to provide
protection against external attack.
Cont…
 State has four fundamental Elements
1. a defined territory,
2. permanent population,
3. an effective government and
4. sovereignty.
1. Population:
Since state is a human association, the first essential
element that constitutes it is the people.
No exact number is fixed to constitute a state.
The states of the world vary in terms of demographic
strength.
 E.g. There are states with a population of greater than
1 billion (China and India)
 There are also states with a constituency of few

thousand people (Vatican and San Marino).

2. Defined Territory
There can be no state without a territory of its own.
The territory of a state includes
land,
water, and
airspace;
It has maritime jurisdiction (extending up to a distance
of three miles up to 20 miles)
The territorial authority of a state also extends
 To ships on high seas under its flag.

 Its embassies and legations/diplomat‘s residence in

foreign lands.
The size of a state‘s territory also cannot be fixed
3. Government:
Government is said to be the soul of the state.
It implements the will of the community.
It protects the people against conditions of insecurity.
The government is the machinery that terminates the condition
of anarchy.
The government of a state should be organized that it enforces
law as to maintain the conditions of peace and security.
The form of government may be:
Monarchical,

Aristocratic,

Oligarchic,

Democratic, or
Dictatorial
4. Sovereignty
It is the highest power of the state that distinguishes it
from all other associations of human beings.
Sovereignty, in its simplest sense, is the principle of
absolute and unlimited power.
Internal Sovereignty implies that inside the
state there can be no other authority that may
claim equality with it.
External sovereignty implies that the state

should be free from foreign control of any

kind.
 Rival Theories of State
Andrew Heywood (2013) classified the rival theories of
state into four:
The pluralist state,
The capitalist state,

The leviathan state and

The patriarchal state.

Pluralist Theory of the State
Pluralist theory of the state has liberal origins. This
theory suggests that:
 The state is a neutral body that arbitrates

between competing interests of the society.

 The state’s mission should be to act like a

‘referee’ and protect citizens and their rights
from other fellow citizens. (Show yellow and
red cards?)
Cont…
Roots of this theory can be traced back to Thomas

Hobbes and John Locke who argued that;

 the state came out of a need to protect
ourselves against the ‘state of nature’.
What is the state of nature?

As Locke put it “where there is no law there is no

freedom’.
Cont…
Therefore, the state should guarantee natural rights of

‘life, liberty and property’.

 Being safe from harm (murder)?
 Speaking your mind ?
 Contractual agreements being held ?
For Hobbes the state needs to provide a strong

alternative to anarchy by being the ultimate power.

Cont…
Pluralism assumes that power is widely and evenly

dispersed in societies (at least in liberal democracies).

Therefore, different interest groups could, in theory,

influence state decisions.

There are several assumptions that underpin this
perspective:
1. The state is subordinate to government: police and
military (and other unelected bodies) serve the elected.
2. The government after being elected remains responsive
to public opinion
The Capitalist State according to the Marxist
Theory of the State
Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) did not provide a complete
theory of the state.
Marxist theory of the state is an alternative to pluralist
theory of the state.

He believed that the state was part of the

superstructure determined by the economic base
forming the foundation of social life.
Cont…
Marxists argue that the state cannot be understood
separately from the economy and economic
structure of the society.

Marxists argue that the state maintains the class

system by either oppressing subordinate classes or
elevating class conflict.

There is a diverse set of views within Marxist theory.

Cont…
The capitalist state is an instrument of class rule or a
means of arbitrating between competing classes so as
to perpetuate a system of unequal class power.

In other words, the state is there to serve the purpose

of the ruling economic classes in capitalist states
(the bourgeoisie).
Cont…
Marxist theory heavily depends on the idea of surplus
value.
Which postulated that the earnings for the factors of
production are not equally distributed.

 Labour produces more value added but does not get

its share (Land, Labour, Capital, Entrepreneurship
Rent, Wages, Interest, Profit).

What is the solution?

Cont…
Marx sees that as class conflict disappears the state
will as well.
A fully communist society, he purported, would also
be stateless.
i.e. Marx predicts that state would lose its necessity
to exist once the class system is erased.

This is because the state emerged out of the class

system, once the system is abolished it will seize to
exist.
The Leviathan State
The leviathan state is a state that pursues its own
interest that are separate from society.

This results in the ever increasing powers of the state.

Most contemporary right wing theorists (of neo-

liberal orientation) view state to be encroaching on the
rights of the individuals and societies and demand
minimum state involvement.
The Patriarchal State
Patriarchy is a term used to refer to the domination of
society by men, leading to oppression and
exploitation of women.

This takes many forms from domination in the family

to imbalance of power in all social and political
relations between men and women.

Feminism and feminist theories of the state highlight

the deep injustices towards women.
The Patriarchal State
Liberal feminists accept a pluralist view of the state
and want women to acquire legal and political
equality.
They do not question the impartiality of the state. E.g.
More women in the parliament
Radical feminists, on the other hand, argue that
gender divisions are the most significant division in
society.
They highlight the state’s role in implementing the
public-private divide.
 The Role of the State
Different forms of state
Minimal states
Developmental states

Social-democratic states

Collectivized states

Totalitarian states
Religious states
Minimal States
The minimal state is the ideal of classical liberals
(focuses on individual freedoms)
The state is merely a protective body,
its core function being to provide a framework of
peace and social order
Its institutional apparatus limited to a police force, a
court system and a military.
Economic, social, cultural, moral and other
responsibilities belong to the individual
Cont…
 The ‘minimal’ or ‘Night-Watchman’ state has three
core functions:
i. the state exists to maintain domestic order.
ii. it ensures that contracts or voluntary
agreements made between private citizens are
enforced.
iii. it provides protection against external attack
2.The developmental state
• Developmental states attempt to promote growth
and economic development.

• These are states that intervene in economic life for

the specific purpose of promoting industrial growth
and economical development.

• Best example to this type of a state would be post-

WWII Japan, South Korea, Singapore.
The social-democratic state
• Social-democratic states aim to rectify (correct, cure) the
imbalances and injustices of a market economy.

• Business cycles (booms and busts) are common in

market economies and these coupled with externalities
(pollution, income inequality) defeat the purpose of having
a market economy.

• Social democratic states attempt to correct these ugly

sides of market economies.
The social-democratic state
• These states are also called ‘Welfare States’.

• Examples include Scandinavian states of Norway,

Sweden, Finland as well as the United Kingdom in some
aspects (free healthcare).

• They mostly provide free healthcare and free education to

their citizens

• Social-democratic states are states that practice

economic and social interventionism.
The collectivized state
• Collectivized states exert control over the entirety of
economic life, usually through a system of central
planning.

• Soviet Socialist Republics of the Cold War period are a

good example.

e.g. Shoes. Green plastic boots of size 42 only.

The Totalitarian State
• The most extreme and extensive form of
interventionism.

• Totalitarian states are all-encompassing states whose

influence penetrates every aspect of human existence.

• The central pillars of such regimes are a comprehensive

process of surveillance and terroristic policing.

• Totalitarian states effectively extinguish civil society and

abolish the private sphere of life altogether.
5. Totalitarian States
The most extreme and extensive form of
interventionism.
The state brings not only the economy, but also
education, culture, religion, family life and so on under
direct state control.
The central pillars of such regimes are a comprehensive
process of surveillance and terroristic policing.
Totalitarian states effectively extinguish civil society
and abolish the private sphere of life altogether.
 E.g. Hitler‘s Germany and Stalin‘s USSR,
 North Korea currently
6. Religious States
The religious fundamentalism tends to reject the
public or private divide and to view religion as the
basis of politics since 1980s.
Fundamentalist movements have typically looked to
seize control of the state and
to use it as an instrument of moral and spiritual
regeneration.
E.g. Iran
 Understanding Government
What is Government?
It is the soul of the state that has maintained
existence of state
It implements the will of the people on behalf of
the state

It is the administrative machinery or agency of

state that brings the intangibility (invisibility) of
the state in to a concrete reality.
 Cont…
 It is held responsible to carry out the day to day
affairs of state

It coordinates the routine activities of the

state & maintains law and order.

It is an organization, institution, or

apparatus through which state sovereignty
is implemented and functions of state are
accomplished
 Cont…
• Any form of government must possess two essential
attributes:
authority and
legitimacy

 Authority:
 the ability to compel obedience
 legitimate power
 Not coercion or manipulation
 Cont..
• Legitimacy:
rightfulness
prompts the governed to comply willingly with its
authority
The popular acceptance of a governing regime or law
as an authority
a basic condition to rule
Without it a government will deadlock or collapse
 Purposes and Functions of Government
 Self-Preservation
 prevailing order, predictability, internal security, and
external defense
 Distribution and Regulation of Resources
 Management of Conflicts
 Fulfillment of Social or Group Aspirations
 Protection of Rights of Citizens
 Protection of Property
 Implementations of Moral Conditions
 Provision of Goods and Services
 Understanding Citizenship
• Citizen
o the person who is a legal member of a particular
State
• What is Citizenship?
the network of relationships between the State and the
citizen.
the legal/formal relations between the State and the
individual
i. Citizenship as a Status of Rights

The mere fact of being a citizen makes the person

creditor of a series of rights
Different types of rights:
Civil rights
Political rights
Social and economic rights
 Cont…
 Hohfeld (1978), for instance, discovered four
components of rights known as ‘the Hohfeldian
incidents’ namely:
• liberty (privilege),
• claim,
• power and
• immunity
 Cont…
 Liberty Right
 is a freedom given for the right-holder

no one including the State has any legitimate

authority to interfere with the citizen‘s freedom
except to prevent harm to others
E.g. the right to movement, freedom of religion,
freedom of expression
 Cont…
 Claim Rights:
o it entails responsibility upon another person or body.
o are rights enjoyed by individuals when others
discharge their obligations.
 Cont…
 Powers Rights:
 are rights regarding the modification of first-order rights
 The holder of a power, be it a government or a citizen, can
change or cancel other people and his/her own
entitlements.
 For example, Article 40(1) of the FDRE constitution asserts
that Ethiopian citizens have the rights to the ownership
of private property and to modify, sale, donate or transfer
their property to a third party.
 Article 33(3) the FDRE constitution, every Ethiopian citizen
has the right to renounce his/her Ethiopian
citizenship/nationality
 Cont…
 Immunity Rights:
 allow bearers escape from controls and thus they are the
opposite of power rights.
 Immunity rights entail the absence of a power in other
party to alter the right holder's normative situation in
some way.

 For instance, in Article 18(3) of the FDRE constitution, “no

one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory
labor”
ii. Membership and Identity
 Citizenship is associated with membership of
apolitical community.
 The criteria for membership have been linked to
shared territory, common culture, ethnic
characteristics, history, etc
iii) Participation
 Participation occupies a key position in citizenship.
 Two approaches in this regard;
minimalists and
Maximalists

 The minimalist approach-Passive participation of

citizens in matters concerning them

 The maximalist approach- imply active, broad

participation of citizens engagement in the State.
iv) Inclusion and Exclusion
 All individuals living in a particular state are not citizens.
 For instance, foreigners/aliens.

 However, citizens are fundamentally different from

aliens in enjoying privileges and shouldering
responsibilities.

 There are some political and economic rights that are

reserved to and duties to be discharged by citizens only.
 Cont…
 For instance, an Ethiopian citizen has the right to get
access to land, vote and to be elected and get
Ethiopian passport.

 Likewise, defending the constitution as well as

Ethiopia territory from foreign aggressors are solely
the duty of Ethiopian citizens.
 Cont…
 Citizenship status, however, is not only restricted to
persons.

 Organizations and [endemic] animals could also be

considered as citizens.

 Just like citizens, corporations and private

organizations do have the right to make profits and
maximize their benefits.
 Theorizing Citizenship
 There are four Approaches of Citizenship

i. liberal,
ii. communitarian,
iii.republican and
iv. multicultural citizenship
i. Liberal Theory of Citizenship
 begins with the individual person (the self)
 The self exists as the true symbol of liberal theory.
 It gives a strong emphasis to the individual liberty
of the citizen, and rights that adhere to each and every
person.
 Hence, in liberalism the primary political unit as well
as the initial focus of all fundamental political inquiry
is the individual person.
 Cont…
 Generally, the bedrock principles of liberal theory
of citizenship are:
 individuals are free to form their own opinions,

pursue their own projects, and

 transact their own business untrammeled by the

State‘s political agenda and coercive power, except
in so far as individual actions implicate the interests
of other members of society.
ii. Citizenship in Communitarian Thought
 Communitarianism emphasizes on the importance of
society in articulating the good.

 The political subject, above all, belongs to a community,

a community to which he/she owes allegiance and
commitment.

 communitarians view individuals as the product of social

practices.
 Cont…
 Privileging individual autonomy is seen as destructive of
communities.

 As a result, the good of the community is much above

individual rights and;

 Citizenship comes from the community identity,

enabling people to participate.
iii.Citizenship in Republican Thought
 put emphasis on both individual and group rights.

 attempts to incorporate the liberal notion of the self-

interested individual within the communitarian
framework of egalitarian and community belonging.

 Citizenship should be understood as a common civic

identity, shaped by a common public culture.
 Cont…
 It requires citizens to comply their individual lives with
unity in the midst of diversity.

 republicans don‘t pressurize individuals to surrender their

particular identities like the communitarian thought.

 Instead, it is underpinned by a concern with

individual obligation to participate in communal
affairs.
iv. Multicultural Citizenship

 The modern conception of citizenship emphasizes on the

recognition of cultural rights and group rights within a
democratic framework.
 MC has four principles:
a. Taking equality of citizenship rights as a starting
point.
 All members of society are formally included as
citizens.
 concerns with the universal rights of members.
 Cont…
b. Recognizing that Formal equality of rights does not
necessarily lead to equality of respect, resources,
opportunities or welfare.
Formal equality can mask and legitimize
disadvantage and discrimination.

It is necessary to consciously recognize group

difference and to understand its causes.
 Cont…
c. Establishing mechanisms for group representation
and participation.
 disadvantagedgroups are often excluded from
decision-making processes.

It is necessary to make arrangements to ensure the

participation of people directly affected, wherever
important decisions are made.
 Cont…
iv. Differential treatment for people with different
characteristics, needs and wants
Multicultural citizenship allows for marginalized
voices to be heard.

A differentiated conception of citizenship is needed

to help marginalized groups attain civic equality
and recognition in multicultural democratic nations.
Modes/Ways of Acquiring and Loosing Citizenship
 Ways of Acquiring Citizenship
 There are two ways:
I. birth
II. By naturalization or by law
 Cont…
I. By birth
 A majority of people acquire citizenship by
birth.
 it has two broad principles
a) Principles ofJus sangiunis
 (the right to blood):-based on the
decent or blood relation of the child
with its parents
b) Jus soli
 (the right to soil):-refers to citizenship
by the birth place of the child .
 Cont…
Delegates of foreign countries with diplomatic
mission & international organization representatives
and workers cannot claim citizenship with their
working territory.

 This is because of two special principles

(international diplomatic immunities):
extraterritoriality and inviolability principles.
2. Citizenship by law(naturalization)
It is a process by which citizenship status is given to a
foreigner by the state when he/she should satisfy the
required criteria.
It includes:
a. Marriage
A woman marries a man of another country can have
the possibility of acquiring her husband's country ci/ship
b. Option
A person of a multiple citizenship has the possibility to
opt the citizenship status of one country.
c. Acquisition of domicile
When a person is able to get permanent residence.
 Cont…
d. Appointment as gov’t official
 Citizenship by job.
e. Grant on application.
 Granting citizenship to a person that can fulfill the
necessary requarement for citizenship
f. Substitution:-
 It is both ways of acquiring and loosing citizenship.
 a process of acquiring a new territory by cession(peacefully)
or subjugation violently.
 Dual citizenship:-
 having citizenship status of two countries at the same time.
Ways of losing citizenship
a. Renunciation:-
 it is the right given to every body to give up his/her
previous nationality based on his/her interest.
 This is more of a legal way
 Has got an international recognition by UN
b. Deprivation:-carried out when citizens commit certain
serious crime against the national interest or the regime.
c. Lapse:-way of losing citizenship when a person stays
outside for a long and continuous period of time.
d. substitution
Ethiopian nationality law

 Acquisition Of Ethiopian Nationality According to the Proc.

No. 378/2003.

 Article 3 : Acquisition by Descent

1) Any person shall be an Ethiopian national by descent
where both or either of his parent is Ethiopian.

2). An infant who is found abandoned in Ethiopia shall, unless

proved to have a foreign nationality, be deemed to have been
born to an Ethiopian parent and shall acquire Ethiopian
nationality.
Art. 4:Acquisition By Law
Any foreigner may acquire Ethiopian nationality by law
in accordance with the provisions of Articles 5-12 of
this Proclamation.
Art. 5: Conditions To Be Fulfilled
A foreigner who applies to acquire Ethiopian nationality
By law shall:
1) have attained the age of majority and be legally capable
under the Ethiopian law;

2) have established his domicile in Ethiopia and have lived in

Ethiopia for a total of at least four years preceding the
submission of his application;
3) be able to communicate in anyone of the languages of the
nations/nationalities of the Country;
4) have sufficient and lawful source of income to
maintain himself and his family;
5) be a person of good character;
6) have no record of criminal conviction;
7) be able to show that he has been released from his previous
nationality or the possibility of obtaining such a release upon
the acquisition of Ethiopian nationality or that he is a stateless
person; and
8) be required to take the oath of allegiance stated under
Article 12 of this Proclamation.
Art. 6 : Cases of Marriage
A foreigner who is married to an Ethiopian national may acquire
Ethiopian nationality by law if:
1) the marriage is concluded in accordance with the Ethiopian
laws or in accordance with the laws of any other country where
the marriage is contracted;
2) there is a lapse of at least two years since the conclusion of the
marriage;
3) he has lived in Ethiopia for at least one year preceding the
submission of his application; and
4) he fulfilled the conditions stated under Sub-Articles (1), (7)
and (8) of Article 5 of this Proclamation
Art. 7: Cases of Adoption
An child adopted by Ethiopian. national may acquire
Ethiopian nationality by law if:
1) he has not attained the age of majority;
2) he lives in Ethiopia together with his adopting parent;
3) Where one of his adopting parents is a foreigner, such
parent has expressed his consent in writing; and
4) the condition stated under Article 5(7) of this
Proclamation has been fulfilled.
Art. 8: Special Cases

A foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution in

the interest of Ethiopia may be conferred with Ethiopian
Nationality by law irrespective of the conditions stated
under Sub-Articles (2) and (3) of Article 5 of this
Proclamation.
Art. 9: Children of a Naturalized Person
1) A person who has acquired Ethiopian Nationality by law
may apply for the his minor child living with him in
Ethiopia; provided, however, that where the applicant is
the only naturalized parent, the consent of both parents
shall be required for naturalization of the child.

2) A child whose application for naturalization has been

submitted in accordance with Sub-Article (l) of this
Article shall be conferred with Ethiopian nationality
where the applicant is able to show that the child is
released from his previous nationality or the possibility
of obtaining such release.
PART FOUR :LOSS OF ETHIOPIAN NATIONALITY
Art. 19: Renunciation of Ethiopian Nationality
1) Any Ethiopian who has acquired or has been guaranteed
the acquisition of the nationality of another state shall
have the right to renounce his Ethiopian nationality.

2) An Ethiopian who intends to renounce his nationality in

accordance with this Article Sub Article (1) shall in advance
inform the Authority in the form prescribed by the Authority.
3)The renunciation of the nationality of a minor child
pursuant to Sub-Article (1) of this Article shall be effected by
the joint decision of his parents or, where one of his parents is
a foreigner, by the decision of the Ethiopian parent.

4) An Ethiopian who has declared his intention to renounce

his nationality may not be released until:
a. he has discharged his outstanding national obligations;
or

b. where he has been accused of or convicted for a crime,

he has been acquitted or served the penalty .
Art. 20: Loss of Ethiopian Nationality upon Acquisition
of Other Nationality
1) Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 19 (4) of this
Proclamation, any Ethiopian who voluntarily acquires another
nationality shall be deemed to have voluntarily renounced his
Ethiopian nationality .

2) An Ethiopian who acquires another nationality by virtue of

being born to a parent having a foreign nationality or by being born
abroad shall be deemed to have voluntarily renounced his
Ethiopian nationality unless he has declared to the Authority his
option to retain it by renouncing his other nationality within one
year after attaining the age of majority, or unless there has been an
earlier express renunciation of his Ethiopian nationality pursuant to
Article 19 (3) of this Proclamation.
Art. 22: Re-Admission to Ethiopian Nationality
1) A person who was an Ethiopian national and who
has acquired foreign nationality by law shall be
readmitted to Ethiopian nationality if he:
1) returns to domicile in Ethiopia;
2) renounces his foreign nationality; and

3) applies to the Authority for re-admission.

2) The provisions of Sub-Article (1) of this Article
shall also apply to a person who has lost his
Ethiopian nationality pursuant to Article 20 (2) of
this Proclamation.
Statelessness
 Statelessness is the condition of having citizenship of
any country and with no government from which to
ask protection.

 stateless person is a person who is not considered as a

national by any state under the operation of its law.
 Statelessness almost always results when state failure
leads people to flee – be it due to invasion and
conquest by another state, civil war, famine, or an
oppressive regime – from their home country.
 Cont…
 To settle such conditions, the UN has adopted a
convention on the protection and reduction of
stateless persons.