lu 5

• There are 193 registered member states under the United Nations (UN)
• There are 2 non-member states with observer status - Vatican City and Palestine
• In total there are 195 states
• How a state becomes a member of the UN

  1. Application submitted to the Secretary-General with a formal letter accepting the contents of the UN Charter

  2. Security Council considers the application

  3. Recommendation for admission must receive affirmative votes of 9 of the 15 members of the Council, provided that none of its five permanent members vote against

  4. If the Council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented to the General Assembly for consideration

  5. A two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly is necessary for admission of a new State

  6. Membership becomes effective the date the resolution for admission is adopted
• State


  Referred to as government structure, self-governing political entities
• Nation


  Characteristics of the population i.e. languages used, historical & cultural background, & sense of nationhood
• Elements of a state

  • Population
  • Territory
  • Government
  • Sovereignty
• Population

  Comprising of people - the mass of the population living within the state
• Territory


  A distinct geographical area
• Government


  An organised structure of administration, normally "top-down" authority
• Sovereignty


  Recognition of the existence of a state, with internal sovereignty (state is supreme over all its citizens and associations) and external sovereignty (state is independent and free from foreign or outside control)
• Theories of the origin of the state

  • Divine origin
  • Force theory
  • Social Contract theory
  • Patriarchal and matriarchal theories
  • Historical & evolutionary theories
• Divine origin theory


  Political authority is created by God & governed by His deputy or vicegerent, with obedience to God and the ruler being above the people & law
• Force theory


  A group of people organise themselves to wage war against others - the winning group appoints its tribal chief to become king & create their own territory, based on "survival of the fittest"
• Social contract theory


  Man obeys the law of nature based on his own interpretation & determination, resulting in insecurity, so man has to establish a common agreement with his fellowmen - laws of the state (civil rights) replaces natural law
• Thomas Hobbes' social contract theory


  People in the state of nature ceded their rights to create sovereignty in return for their protection and a more functional society
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau's social contract theory


  Popular sovereignty which includes the "general will" of the individuals of the state, emphasising what is good for society as a whole
• John Locke's social contract theory


  Uncertainties in the state of nature led to the establishment of a civil society through a social contract, and a governmental contract to select a ruler, with no surrender of rights only the transfer of a few given rights
• Patriarchal and matriarchal theories

  Patriarchal - expansion of the family, with the father holding the authority

  Matriarchal - power of the female (maternal authority), with females succeeding to property and power
• Historical & evolutionary theory

  The state is a product of growth - a slow & steady evolution extending over a long period of time, transformed by 5 factors: kinship, religion, property & defense, force, and political consciousness