A social science that deals with the systematic study of the state and government
Political science investigates the phenomena of government, as political economy deals with wealth, biology with life, statistics with numbers, and geometry with space and magnitude
State
A community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a fixed territory, and possessed of an independent government organized for political ends to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience
Nation
A relation of birth or origin and implies a common race, usually characterized by community of language and customs
Government
The agency or instrumentality through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed, and realized
Essential elements of a state
People
Territory
Government
Sovereignty
People
The inhabitants of the state, numerous enough to be self-sufficing and to defend themselves and small enough to be easily administered and sustained
Territory
The fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the state, including land mass, inland and external waters, and air space
Government
The agency that promotes the welfare of the people, and can be replaced by revolution if it inflicts harm on the people
Sovereignty
The supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a state, including legal sovereignty (authority to issue final commands) and political sovereignty (power behind the legal sovereign)
Sovereignty is permanent, exclusive, comprehensive, absolute, indivisible, inalienable, and imprescriptible
