The Fundamentals of the State and Forms of Government
Defining the State: Components and Authority
The state is the top political and administrative unit which governs a territory and under whose authority are all inhabitants. A state consists of a territory with clear and internationally recognized borders (including water up to 200 miles, subsurface soil, embassies and consulates, airspace, warships, and military aircraft).
Essential Elements of a State
A state requires a population that is governed by the same government and laws. Furthermore, it possesses identifying symbols, such as an anthem, a flag, a capital, and generally, a currency.
Territory and Sovereignty
All states have a territory over which they exercise their power. This territory is bounded by borders that differentiate them from other foreign states. No one can cross those borders without authorization. However, the State cannot act outside those boundaries.
Population and Citizenship
The population living in the territory of a State consists of all the citizens of that State.
The Role of Law and Enforcement
To regulate the land and people, the state establishes a set of laws that must be obeyed by all persons and organizations that are part of that State. These organizations include corporations, political parties, unions, cultural associations, and NGOs. The State may impose its decisions by force and has the power to punish those who fail to comply with the law.
Global Diversity Among States
The present world is made up of about 200 states. There are large differences between them.
Differences in Age, Size, and Influence
Some states have been recently created, while others have a long history. For example:
- New States: East Timor was founded in 2002 and Montenegro in 2006.
- Ancient States: Egypt has a history of over 5,000 years.
States also vary greatly in size. Russia, the world’s largest state, covers an area larger than the European continent or Oceania. At the opposite end are several microstates, whose territory is extremely small, such as Monaco, Singapore, and San Marino.
Above all, not all states are equally powerful. The U.S. is considered the 1st world power because of its political, military, and economic strength. Other major powers include China, Japan, EU member states, and Russia. However, most EU member states have little individual influence over others.
Major Forms of Government
Republics and Monarchies
- Republic: The head of state is the President. In democratic republics, the President is elected by the citizens, while in republican dictatorships, the President is chosen by the groups who control power.
- Monarchy: These are states in which the head of state is a king or queen, who holds office by right of birth and transmits it to their heirs. Monarchies can be democratic (constitutional) or dictatorial (absolute).
Understanding Dictatorship
The dictatorship (from Latin dictatura) is a form of government in which power is concentrated around the figure of a single individual (the dictator), usually through the consolidation of a de facto government. It is characterized by:
- An absence of separation of powers.
- A propensity to exercise arbitrary control for the benefit of the minority that supports it.
- The absence of consent on the part of the governed.
- The impossibility of the opposition coming to power through an institutionalized process.
Understanding Democracy
Democracy is a form of organization of groups of people, whose dominant feature is that the ownership of the power resides in all of its members, making decisions that respond to the collective will of the group. Strictly speaking, democracy is a form of government and state organization in which collective decisions are taken by the people through participatory mechanisms that directly or indirectly confer legitimacy to representatives.
Broadly speaking, democracy is a form of social interaction in which members are free and equal, and social relations are established according to contractual mechanisms.