State
Body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically (w/ a gov), with the power to make and enforce law w/o consent of any higher authority
Characteristics of a state
Population, territory, sovereignty, government
Population
Members/citizens of a state, can be rural or urban, poverty, access to resources, education, traditions among culture, speak common language
Territory
Area in which a state’s rule applies
State must have set boundaries (that can change over time), states can purchase territory from other states
Sovereignty
The ability to rule within a territory.
All states equal to each other, don’t interfere with affairs of other states, some states follow higher authority like UN, power to decide how things operate within boundaries, if state is unable to keep ppl safe then UN allows other states to help thru military force
Government
The agency in which a state exerts its will and rules to accomplish its goals
Every state is politically organized, so they all have governments
Force theory
One person/group claimed control over an area and forced all within to submit to their rule.
Power comes from being stronger/more powerful
Con: those in power by force are often overthrown, force can’t be only thing holding state together
Divine right theory
God created the state and gave people of royal birth divine right to rule. Population obeys ruler like god.
Power comes from god and defying the state means defying god
Evolutionary theory
State developed naturally over early family. Original family become a network of families then a tribe, tribe stopped wandering and became a state
Humans are naturally one big happy family
Social contract theory
Promoting the well being of all. Population and leader have a contract. State has power and rules but provides safety to population.
Power derived from people’s willingness to share it
Compare and contrast 2 forms of gov and describe advantages/disadvantages
Dictator vs representative democracy
D: one person holds all power, citizens have no say (pros: efficient, stability in ruler ; cons: abuse of power, political unrest, oppression)
RD: ppl have reps to make choices, citizens get a say in reps (pros: ppl get a say, representation ; cons: can take longer to pass laws, for the majority)
Similarities: in both citizens aren’t directly making decisions
Form vs system of gov
Form= overall shape and structure
System= how power is distributed within each form
Unitary
Power concentrated in national/central gov
Pros: promotes national unity bc everyone follows same policies
Cons: too much centralization, what works for one region might not work for another
Federal system
Power divided between national and regional gov
National mainly deals w safety, regional deals w other things like education
Pro: flexibility in meeting needs of different language and ethnic groups
Con: patchwork of competition laws from region to region, conflicts between central and regional gov
Confederal system
Power resides in regions as independent states
Pros: states may unite for some purposes w/o giving up power to run personal affairs, flexibility in meeting local needs, reduce likelihood of authoritarian regime bc national gov power is limited
Cons: weak central gov may not meet needs of country as a whole, vastly different laws in states/regions
