The State

Question 1

What’s a State

Answer 1

• A state is a “human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.”
  
  • their sovereignty is recognized by other states

Question 2

Key concept:

Answer 2

Sovereignty: Acting within a territory independently of external actors and internal rivals

Question 3

Key conditions:

Answer 3

autonomy (making decisions without interference) and capacity (resources)

Question 4

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels:

Answer 4

• “The executive of the modern state is nothing but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.”
• The state is not a neutral arbiter Can’t discuss the state without discussing( especially economic) power
  
  • its a violent force

Question 5

The State Defined

Answer 5

• the organization that maintains a monopoly of force over a given territory
• a set of political institutions that generates and carries out policy
• typically highly institutionalized
• sovereign - control things domestically
• Charachterized by such institutions as an army, a police force, taxation, a judiciary, and a social welfare system.

Question 6

Government:

Answer 6

leadership or elite who run the state and make policies
- weakly institutionalized
- limited by the existing regime
- often composed of elected officials, such as a president or prime minister, or unelected officials, such as a monarch

Question 7

Regime:

Answer 7

• fundamental rules and norms of politics that shape
  
  • long term goals regarding individual freedom and equality
  • where power should reside, and
  • use of that power.

Question 8

State Authority: Regime

Answer 8

• Norms and rules regarding individual freedom and collective equality, the locus of power, and the use of that power
• institutionalized but can be changed by dramatic social events such as a revolution
• categorized at the most basic level as either democratic or authoritarian
• often embodied in a consitution

Question 9

democratic

Answer 9

• some examples:
  
  • Constitutional monarchies (U.K., Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, Qatar)
  • Republics (U.S.A., France, Uruguay)
  • Parliamentary democracy (Canada, Germany, Israel, Thailand, Japan)

Question 10

nondemocratic

Answer 10

• some examples
  
  • Personalistic dictatorships (Haiti under Duvaliers,Nicaragua under Somoza)
  • Military rule (Chile,Argentina, Brazil underJunta)
  • One-party dictatorship(Mexico under PRI, Vietnam,China, USSR)

Question 11

institutionalization order

Answer 11

state (most institutionalized), Regime, Government (least institutionalized)

Question 12

nation

Answer 12

• a group of people bound together by a common set of political aspirations
• states can exist without nations, and nations can exists without states.

Question 13

hobbes social contract theory

Answer 13

• human beings are dangerous, it doesn’t take that many bad people tov mess things up for everyone. we have the natural urge to kill each other and even the richest is not safe from that. that potential of killing really messes things up
• outside of the state - life is short, brutal, and not a happy place
• humans are fundamentally selfish and prone to violence.
• we have to give up most of our rights to the leviathan in order for our safety

Question 14

locke social contract theory

Answer 14

• it makes sense to think of life as Hobbe’s does, but Hobbes is to pessimistic
• yes we need a state to pragmatically help us do things, but it would be foolish to go from the frying pan into the fire.
  
  • from state of nature to the leviathan
• to make sure that this state protects our rights, we have to make sure it is limited
• we have to make sure it protects our rights but also our liberties.

Question 15

Rousseau social contract theory

Answer 15

• the most optimistic view
• human nature is fundamentally good and cooperative
• if left to our own devices we would figure it out. it is not our greedy human nature that corrupts us it is the state.

Question 16

consensus

Answer 16

individuals band together to protect themselves and create common rules leadership chosen from among the people security through cooperation

Question 17

coercion

Answer 17

individuals are brought together by a ruler, who imposes authority and monopolizes power. Security through domination

Question 18

Why did the Modern State Emerge in Europe?

Answer 18

• Violence and anarchy — organizational evolution
• Small geographic location — exposure to new ideas
• Religious conflict — soverignty
  
  • thirty years war (1618-1648)
  • treaty of Westphalia (1648)
    
    • beginning of international relations
• key technological change
  1. printing press - spread of information quicker

Question 19

1648 Treaty of Westphalia

Answer 19

• 3 notions established
  
  1. state soverignty
  2. non-intervenions
  3. balance of power

Question 20

Tilly: States as protection rackets

Answer 20

• money (taxes) = protection
  
  • war making - going to war against external enenmies
  • extraction - extracting resources
  • protection - protecting citizens from external and interal factors
  • state making - build an organization

Question 21

feudalism

Answer 21

• A socioeconomic and political system characterized by decentralized public authority. Power divided between:

1. Monarchs
2. Lords and Ladies (Nobility)
3. Knights
4. Peasants

Question 22

Competition, state building and legitimacy

Answer 22

• rules earn money from the extraction (resources and taxes) but they also need money to build a state
• if they turn a profit they can build a larger state next year
• leverage that citizens are able to engage in

Question 23

Why the Modern world is a World of States

Answer 23

• Strong European states were the ones that survived intense military competition.
• revolution in military affairs - RMA
• states that were able to adapt to new military innovation were better off
• When compared to other forms of political organizations, states do a better job
  
  • defending themselves against competitors;
  • promoting economic development;
  • encouraging technological innovation; and
  • creating domestic stability by encouraging interaction and the emergence of shared identity (nationalism).
• The state created imperialism, and imperialism spread the state.

Question 24

How do Rulers Stay in Power?

Answer 24

• They may use
  
  • Fear: punish dissent.
  • Rewards: bribe supporters.
  • Legitimacy: the public accepts the idea that institutions havethe right to exist.
• Legitimate states are more stable.

Question 25

Three Types of Legitimacy

Answer 25

traditional, charismatic, rational- legal

Question 26

Traditional Legitimacy

Answer 26

- built habit and custom - institutionalization level is strong - examples - British Monarchy - Saudi Royal Family

Question 27

Charismatic Legitimacy

Answer 27

- Built by the force of ideas and the presence of a leader - institutionalization level is weak - examples - Nelson Mandela (post-apartheid South Africa) - Mahatma Gandhi

Question 28

Rational-Legal Legitimacy

Answer 28

- Built by rules and procedures; the offices creating and enforcing the rules. - institutionalization level is strong - Examples - U.S President - German Chancellor

Question 29

Power Dispersion: Centralization versus Decentralization

Answer 29

- **federalism:** significant state powers, such as taxation, lawmaking, and security, are devolved to regional or local bodies - **Unitary States:** most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority

Question 30

Strong and Weak States

Answer 30

- **Strong States:** can fulfill basic tasks across a wide range of areas - **Weak states**: unable (or unwilling…) to execute basic tasks - **Failed states**: so weak that their very basic structures break down

Question 31

capacity

Answer 31

- ability to wield power to carry out basic tasks - mobilization of resources

Question 32

Autonomy

Answer 32

- ability to wield power independently of the interests of public or international actors - relates to sovereignty