State (polity)

A state is a political entity that helps manage and organize people living in a certain territory, often called a country. It uses governments to make rules, provide services, and keep order for the population within its borders. States can be different types, like a unitary state where power is centralized, or a federal union where smaller parts called federated polities have their own powers too.

For most of early history, people lived in groups without central governments. But around 5,500 years ago, the first states began to form as societies grew larger and more organized. Over time, states developed many ways to justify their rule, such as divine right or the social contract.

Today, most of the world is made up of nation states, where a government rules over a group of people who share a common identity. These states have sovereignty, meaning they are free to make their own decisions, but they also need to be recognized by other states. Some smaller states may be influenced by larger, more powerful ones.

Etymology

The word "state" and its similar words in other European languages, like stato in Italian, estado in Spanish and Portuguese, état in French, and Staat in German and Dutch, all come from the Latin word status. This Latin word means "condition" or "circumstances." It comes from stare, which means "to stand," giving the idea of something permanent or fixed.

In English, the word "state" has been used to mean "condition" since around the year 1200. It came into Middle English from both Old French and Latin. Later, during the revival of Roman law in the 14th century, the word began to describe the legal standing of people, especially kings and nobles. Over time, it grew to mean the whole legal system and government of a society. Writers like Machiavelli in the 1500s helped shape the modern meaning of the word "state." The idea of "church and state" also started in the 16th century. A famous phrase, "I am the State", is linked to Louis XIV, though it may not be exactly what he said.

Definition

A state is a political group that controls a specific area and its people. It has leaders who make rules and have the power to enforce them. The idea of a state is a bit different from a nation, which is more about shared culture and history.

States can be different types, like large empires or smaller city-states. Some are ruled by one person, while others have elected leaders. No matter the type, a state needs to have control over its land and people to be strong and stable.

History

States began when people could centralize power in a lasting way. Farming and settled communities helped this happen. Certain crops, like wheat and barley, were important because they could be stored and taxed. Farming also allowed some people to focus on jobs other than growing food. Writing, like the Inca quipus, helped keep important information organized.

The first states appeared in places like Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Mesoamerica, and the Andes. For much of history, many people lived without states, in groups like hunter-gatherers or tribal societies. These groups didn’t have centralized governments.

States developed in modern times, and now most of the world’s land is divided into them. Some areas, like the Amazon rainforest, still have indigenous peoples living there. There are around 200 sovereign states today, most of which are part of the United Nations.

Prehistoric stateless societies

Main article: Stateless societies

For most of history, people lived without states. These societies didn’t have concentrated power or big differences in wealth and authority.

Neolithic period

Further information: Neolithic and Copper Age state societies

During the Neolithic period, people started farming, living in settled communities, and using new tools. Farming led to bigger families and more people specializing in different jobs. Early states had rulers and wealthy classes who lived differently from others.

Ancient Eurasia

See also: Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Indus Valley Civilization, and Yellow River civilization

Mesopotamia is thought to be where the earliest civilizations began. It had cities, specialized jobs, writing, and laws. Bronze tools and weapons helped states grow.

Classical antiquity

See also: Athenian democracy and Roman Republic

The ancient Greeks were the first to think deeply about how states should work. They created democracies in places like Athens. The Roman Republic also had important ideas about government.

Feudal state

See also: Feudalism and Middle Ages

In medieval Europe, feudalism organized society. Lords and vassals had important relationships. Parliaments sometimes formed to discuss laws and taxes.

Modern state

See also: Bureaucracy, Constitution, Corporation, Globalization, and Neoliberalism

Modern states are often national states, with shared identities. They have strong bureaucracies and follow international laws. The idea of equal sovereign states became widespread after World War II.

Theories for the emergence of the state

Theories about how the earliest states began focus on farming, especially growing grains, and people living in one place for a long time. Since things like fish and milk go bad quickly without refrigeration, which people didn’t have long ago, they weren’t good to steal or tax. But grains like wheat, barley, rice, and corn can be stored for a long time, so they were important for early governments. When people started growing these grains, they needed protection from thieves and strong leaders to help them.

Farming also needed big systems to control water, like in ancient Egypt, where farmers had to work together to manage floods from the Nile River. Building these water systems needed a lot of planning and money, which helped leaders gain more power.

There are different ideas about why modern states developed. Some think it was because of war, others believe it was due to trade and property rules, and some say it’s because states are good at solving problems and helping people work together.

Theories of state function

See also: Corporatism and Elite theory

Most ideas about what a government does can be split into two groups:

1. "liberal" or "conservative" ideas see capitalism as normal, and look at what governments do in a capitalist world. These ideas often treat the government as neutral, separate from people and money.
2. Marxist and anarchist ideas, however, connect politics closely with money matters, and stress the link between money power and political power. They see the government as mainly helping the richest group.

Anarchist perspective

Main article: Anarchism

Anarchism is a political philosophy that thinks governments and hierarchies are not needed or helpful. Instead, it supports a stateless society, or anarchy, where people manage themselves through free, cooperative groups.

Anarchists believe that any government is a tool of control, no matter who leads it. They say that governments have a monopoly on the legal use of violence. Unlike Marxists, anarchists do not want to take over the government. Instead, they want to completely end it and create a new way of living together without any government power.

Anarcho-capitalist perspective

Main article: Anarcho-capitalism

Anarcho-capitalists, like Murray Rothbard, agree with anarchists about ending government control but for different reasons. They believe that people should agree to follow rules, and that this can end the need for a government to force everyone. They think that markets and private companies can do a better job than governments at providing services like defense and legal help.

Marxist perspective

Main article: Marx's theory of the state

Marx and Engels thought that the goal of communism was a classless society where the government would "wither away", leaving only the sharing of resources. They wrote about how governments work in different times, but did not guess what future societies might look like.

Marx’s early work showed he saw government as shaped by money matters, working against the public good. He thought government shows the class struggles in society, helping the ruling class stay in power. The Communist Manifesto says government is mainly “a committee for managing the common affairs of the bourgeoisie.”

Pluralism

See also: Polyarchy

Pluralists see society as many groups and people fighting for power. They think government is neutral, just doing what the winning groups want. Robert Dahl said government is like another group fighting for influence. With many groups having power, government decisions come from many talks and deals. Pluralism says all groups can try to influence government, even though some groups might have more power.

Contemporary critical perspectives

Jürgen Habermas thought that old ideas about government and money were too simple. He believed government plays a big role in shaping money matters, by controlling economic activity and being a big user and maker of goods, as well as through its helpful welfare state work. Because of this, Habermas felt government cannot just react to money class interests.

Michel Foucault thought that modern ideas about government paid too much attention to abstract ideas and not enough to real government actions. He believed that government has no real “essence.” Instead, he thought we should study how government practices change to understand government itself. Foucault created the idea of governmentality while studying the history of government, and he looked at how people’s understanding of rule affects how government works.

Foucault argued that technology has made government powerful and hard to see. He suggested looking at government as a system with many parts, not something to simply remove. He said every scientific advance has helped government, especially the rise of math and statistics, which helped create the modern state. Foucault said the nation state was not random but carefully made, especially with the growth of police work and the idea of allowing people into civil society. He said democracy was not just about freedom but a way to use new technologies for shaping public opinion, where people were asked to choose leaders like presidents. Foucault called these new tools biopower and part of biopolitics.

Theories of state legitimacy

Main article: Political legitimacy

Countries usually need to be seen as rightful rulers to control their people. There are different ideas about why a government can rightly have power.

Main article: Social contract

Some thinkers believe people agree to let a government rule to protect their rights. They think life without a government would be hard and unsafe. These ideas help explain why people accept government control and why governments can rightly claim their power.

Main article: Divine right of kings

In the past, some rulers claimed their power came from God. Others argued that leaders should be justified by the people they rule, not just by divine right. These debates shaped how people thought about leadership and power.

Main article: Rational-legal authority

A thinker named Max Weber said people accept government in three ways: because it’s tradition, because they admire a leader, or because leaders follow specific laws. He believed modern countries mostly use the idea that leaders follow written laws to claim their right to power.

State failure

Main article: Failed state

Some states are called "weak" or "failed" because they cannot do their basic jobs well. A failed state is one where the government has lost control of its land or was never really in charge. Experts study why some states are weak and how they differ from stronger ones, especially in places still developing.

One idea is that a state fails when it cannot keep safety, follow laws, or provide important services to its people. Others say that weak institutions — meaning not enough strong rules or leaders — cause state failure. But some believe state failure is more complicated and depends on many different situations. Failed states can be dangerous because they might become places where harmful groups hide, and they can also cause problems like people moving away from their homes or conflicts between countries. To help prevent these problems, it’s important to build strong institutions, support economic growth, and address reasons for violence.