The State- politics

• state

  The term ‘state’ has been used to refer to a bewildering range of things: a collection of institutions, a territorial unit, a philosophical idea, an instrument of coercion or oppression, and so on
• Sovereignty is the principle of absolute and unlimited power
• Sovereignty can be understood in different ways:

  • Legal sovereignty refers to supreme legal authority, defined in terms of the ‘right’ to command compliance
  • Political sovereignty refers to absolute political power, defined in terms of the ‘ability’ to command compliance
• Internal sovereignty is the notion of supreme power/authority within the state

  • Example: parliamentary sovereignty
• External sovereignty relates to a state’s place in the international order and its capacity to act as an independent and autonomous entity
• Idealism: A view of politics that emphasizes the importance of morality and ideals; philosophical idealism implies that ideas are more ‘real’ than the material world.
• Civil society: A private sphere of autonomous groups and associations, independent from state or public authority
• Hegel


  German philosopher. Hegel was the founder of modern idealism and developed the notion that consciousness and material objects are, in fact, unified. In Phenomenology of Spirit, he sought to develop a rational system that would substitute for traditional Christianity by interpreting the entire process of human history, and indeed the universe itself, in terms of the progress of absolute Mind towards selfrealization. In his view, history is, in essence, a march of the human spirit towards a determinate endpoint. Hegel’s work had a considerable impact on Marx and ‘young Hegelians’.
• Nation-state: A sovereign political association within which citizenship and nationality overlap; one nation within a single state
• Hobbes


  English political philosopher. Hobbes was the son of clergyman who abandoned his family. He became tutor to the exiled Prince of Wales. Writing at a time of uncertainty and civil strife, the English Revolution, Hobbes developed the first theory of nature and human behaviour since Aristotle . His classic work, Leviathan , discussed the grounds of political obligation and undoubtedly reflected the impact of the Civil War. It provided a defence for absolutist government but, by appealing to reasoned argument in the form of the social contract, also disappointed advocates of divine right.
• Neopluralism recognizes the need to revise or update classical pluralism in the light of elite, Marxist, and New Right theories
• Neopluralism embraces a broad range of perspectives and positions
• Central themes of neopluralism include:

  • Taking account of modernizing trends, such as the emergence of postindustrial society
  • Preferring capitalism to socialism, but regarding free-market economic doctrines as obsolete
  • Viewing western democracies as 'deformed polyarchies', where major corporations exert disproportionate influence
• A Marxist term, denoting a class that subsists through the sale of its labour power; strictly speaking, the proletariat is not equivalent to the working class.


  proletariat
• Patriarchy Patriarchy literally means ‘rule by the father’, the domination of the husband–father within the family, and the subordination of his wife and his children. However, the term is usually used in the more general sense of ‘rule by men’, drawing attention to the totality of oppression and exploitation to which women are subject.
• Rights: Legal or moral entitlements to act or be treated in a particular way; civil rights differ from human rights.
• Robert Nozick was a US academic and political philosopher
• Nozick's major work was "Anarchy, State and Utopia" published in 1974
• His work had a profound influence on New Right theories and beliefs
• Nozick developed a form of libertarianism close to Locke's and influenced by nineteenth-century US individualists such as Spooner and Tucker
• He argued that property rights should be strictly upheld if wealth has been justly acquired or transferred
• This position supports minimal government and minimal taxation, undermining the case for welfare and redistribution
• Nozick's rights-based theory of justice was developed in response to the ideas of John Rawls
• In later life, Nozick modified his extreme libertarianism
• Statism Statism (or, in French, étatisme) is the belief that state intervention is the most appropriate means of resolving political problems, or bringing about economic and social development. This view is underpinned by a deep, and perhaps unquestioning, faith in the state as a mechanism through which collective action can be organized and common goals can be achieved.
• Warlordism is a situation where militarized groups compete for control over a region or territory when there is no central government or authority to enforce law and order.
• Failed state

  A failed state is a state that is unable to perform its key role of ensuring domestic order by monopolizing the use of force within its territory. Examples of failed states in recent years include Cambodia, Haiti, Rwanda, Liberia and Somalia. Failed states are no longer able to operate as viable political units, in that they lack a credible system of law and order.
• Governance


  Governance is a broader term than government (see p. 266). Although lacking a settled or agreed definition, it refers, in its widest sense, to the various ways through which social life is coordinated. Government can therefore be seen as one of the institutions involved in governance; it is possible to have ‘governance without government’ (Rhodes, 1996).
• • The state is essential for maintaining order and preventing chaos and conflict in society.
  • It represents collective interests rather than individual ones, providing a framework for public life.
  • It allows people to participate in decisions that affect society as a whole.
  • The state promotes social justice by modernizing society and delivering economic and social benefits.
  • It ensures civic order necessary for a functioning economy, intervenes to maintain stability and employment, and provides welfare services to protect people from poverty.
• • Anarchists argue that the state is the root cause of disorder as it diminishes moral autonomy and inhibits moral development.
  • They believe that reducing or eliminating the state will allow order to emerge naturally from freedom and equality.
  • The state is seen as an enemy of freedom, with its authority being oppressive by nature.
  • While some argue for a minimal role for the state, anarchists view all states as illegitimate.
  • Economically, anarchists believe that market economies function best when left free from state intervention.