A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a
definite territory.[1] Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of
contemporary states.[2][3]
A country often has a single state, with various administrative divisions. A state may be
a unitary state or some type of federal union; in the latter type, the term "state" is
sometimes used to refer to the federated polities that make up the federation, and they
may have some of the attributes of a sovereign state, except being under their
federation and without the same capacity to act internationally. (Other terms that are
used in such federal systems may include "province", "region" or other terms.)
For most of prehistory, people lived in stateless societies. The earliest forms of states
arose about 5,500 years ago.[4] Over time societies became more stratified and
developed institutions leading to centralised governments. These gained state
capacity in conjunction with the growth of cities, which was often dependent on climate
and economic development, with centralisation often spurred on by insecurity and
territorial competition.
Over time, varied forms of states developed, that used many different justifications for
their existence (such as divine right, the theory of the social contract, etc.). Today, the
modern nation state is the predominant form of state to which people are subject.
[5]
Sovereign states have sovereignty; any ingroup's claim to have a state faces some
practical limits via the degree to which other states recognize them as such. Satellite
states are states that have de facto sovereignty but are often indirectly controlled by
another state.
Definitions of a state are disputed.[6][7] According to sociologist Max Weber, a "state" is
a polity that maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, although other
definitions are common.[8][9] Absence of a state does not preclude the existence of
a society, such as stateless societies like the Haudenosaunee Confederacy that "do not
have either purely or even primarily political institutions or roles".[10] The degree and
extent of governance of a state is used to determine whether it has failed.[11]
Etymology
[edit]
The word state and its cognates in some other European languages (stato in
Italian, estado in Spanish and Portuguese, état in French, Staat in German and Dutch)
ultimately derive from the Latin word status, meaning "condition, circumstances".
Latin status derives from stare, "to stand", or remain or be permanent, thus providing
the sacred or magical connotation of the political entity.
The English noun state in the generic sense "condition, circumstances" predates the
political sense. It was introduced to Middle English c. 1200 both from Old French and
directly from Latin.
With the revival of the Roman law in 14th-century Europe, the term came to refer to the
legal standing of persons (such as the various "estates of the realm" – noble, common,
and clerical), and in particular the special status of the king. The highest estates,
generally those with the most wealth and social rank, were those that held power. The
word also had associations with Roman ideas (dating back to Cicero) about the
"status rei publicae", the "condition of public matters". In time, the word lost its reference
to particular social groups and became associated with the legal order of the entire
society and the apparatus of its enforcement.[12]
The early 16th-century works of Machiavelli (especially The Prince) played a central role
in popularizing the use of the word "state" in something similar to its modern sense.
[13]
The contrasting of church and state still dates to the 16th century. The North
American colonies were called "states" as early as the 1630s.[citation needed] The
expression "L'État, c'est moi" ("I am the State") attributed to Louis XIV, although
probably apocryphal, is recorded in the late 18th century.[14]
Definition
[edit]
There is no academic consensus on the definition of the state.[6] The term "state" refers
to a set of different, but interrelated and often overlapping, theories about a certain
range of political phenomena.[7] According to Walter Scheidel, mainstream definitions of
the state have the following in common: "centralized institutions that impose rules, and
back them up by force, over a territorially circumscribed population; a distinction
between the rulers and the ruled; and an element of autonomy, stability, and
differentiation. These distinguish the state from less stable forms of organization, such
as the exercise of chiefly power."[15]
The most commonly used definition is by Max Weber[16][17][18][19][20] who describes the state
as a compulsory political organization with a centralized government that maintains
a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a certain territory.[8][9] Weber writes that
the state "is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the
legitimate use of physical force within a given territory."[21]
While defining a state, it is important not to confuse it with a nation; an error that occurs
frequently in common discussion. A state refers to a political unit with sovereignty over a
given territory.[22] While a state is more of a "political-legal abstraction," the definition of a
nation is more concerned with political identity and cultural or historical factors.
[22]
Importantly, nations do not possess the organizational characteristics like geographic
boundaries or authority figures and officials that states do.[22] Additionally, a nation does
not have a claim to a monopoly on the legitimate use of force over their populace,
[22]
while a state does, as Weber indicated. An example of the instability that arises when
a state does not have a monopoly on the use of force can be seen in African states
which remain weak due to the lack of war which European states relied on.[23] A state
should not be confused with a government; a government is an organization that has
been granted the authority to act on the behalf of a state.[22] Nor should a state be
confused with a society; a society refers to all organized groups, movements, and
individuals who are independent of the state and seek to remain out of its influence. [
