The State
• Difficult term for most Americans
• Tend to think of local government—this a
function of federalism and early confederation
• Instead, we are thinking of centralized authority
Defining the State
• Max Weber: monopoly of violence over a given
territory
• Sovereignty – ability to carry out actions
independently of internal/external challengers
• State is thus institution that wields force to
ensure order within and resistance to threats
from without
Are States Just Rackets?
Not unlike organized crime!
• Provide protection
• Demand payment
• Punish violators
• Adjudicate disputes
• Battle rivals
States Make Policy
Unlike criminal rackets, states turn ideas into
political practice and the state is valued for its
own sake
• Laws and regulations
• Property rights
• Health and labor protections
• Social welfare
The state creates standards through which public
goals such as freedom and equality can be
achieved
States and Regimes
How is a regime different from a state?
• Regimes as the fundamental rules and norms of
politics
• Long-term goals regarding freedom and equality
• Where should power reside? How should it be
used?
Ways in which Regimes Differ
• Democratic or authoritarian: How different?
• United States versus Canada: How different?
• Can trace these differences in constitutions, but
also in informal practices and rules
Regimes as Institutions
• Often institutionalized
• Not easily changed
• Dramatic events, revolutions or crises, removal
by war: “regime change” (Iraq)
• Sometimes not institutionalized, leader operates
as she or he sees fit: “L’État, c’est moi” (Louis
XIV—“I am the State”)
States and Regimes, Hardware and
Software
• States as machinery or computer of politics
• Regimes as political “software,” setting the
basic range of actions for the computer
• Each state is “programmed” differently
What Is Government?
• The leadership in charge of running the state
• The operator of the hardware and software!
• May be democratic or undemocratic
• Weakly institutionalized—removed by public, by
force, by mortality…
Figure 2-1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE, REGIME, AND GOVERNMENT
Origins of Political Organization
Where did states come from?
Did not exist for vast majority of human history:
• Tribes
• City-states
• Empires
Now only states rule the earth. Why?
Early Political Organization
• Nomadic groups become sedentary—
agriculture
• Creation of surplus, specialization
• Creation of inequality
• Growth in population
• Need to resolve dilemmas of freedom and
equality—had not existed before
Emergence of Political Organization
Development of societies required political
organization
• Make and enforce rules
• Mechanism to solve conflict
• Set collective goals
Finding balance between freedom and equality
led to questions of who should have power and
how they should wield it
Consensus or Coercion?
Is political organization the result of public
consensus (bottom-up) or elite coercion (topdown)?
• Consensus: social contract between rulers and
ruled (Hobbes)
• Coercion: rise of the state and institutions
created inequality and harmed social balance
(Rousseau)
• Both are true, depending on time and place
Pre-state Societies
• Some scholars claim that the rise of the
organized state led to increased violence
• New research shows that in pre-state human
groups, constant warfare and violence was
endemic
• States reduce warfare, increase protection,
decrease violence, and gain legitimacy
The Rise of the Modern State
Arose in Europe in Middle Ages. Why?
Roman Empire the first modern state
• Political organization
• Infrastructure (roads, aqueducts)
• Trade
Collapse of Roman Empire:
“Dark Ages,” 500–1000 C.E.
• Europe fragmented into many rival territories
with no central authority
• Decline of basic political, economic, social
institutions
Figure 2-2 EUROPE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY
Dark Ages and Political Change
• Hypercompetitive environment
• Constant warfare, rapid organization evolution
• Small states emerge as warlords consolidate
territory
• Also shaped by geography—hard to unify
Europe (unlike China)
The Advantages of States
• Encouraged economic development as way to
gain revenue, fight rivals
• Encouraged technological innovation or
application for same reason—gunpowder,
cartography
• Homogenization of peoples within territories—
common language, customs, identity (a nation)
European States Expand Outward
• Remove rivals in Europe (such as Catholic
Church)
• Begin to voyage outside of Europe for new
markets and resources
• Creation of empires across globe
• Even after end of empire, former colonies
themselves become states
Comparing State Power
How do we compare and evaluate states?
• Forms of legitimacy
• Relative centralization of power
Legitimacy
Defined as a value where someone or something
is recognized or accepted as right and proper
• Confers authority and power
• Legitimate behavior is seen as “right thing to do”
from a sense of reciprocal responsibility
• Consensus over coercion
Forms of Legitimacy
According to Max Weber:
• Traditional
• Charismatic
• Rational-Legal
Traditional Legitimacy
• Valid because “it has always been done
this way”
• Accepted over a long period of time
• Historical myths and legends
• Continuity between past and present
• Example: monarchy
• Highly institutionalized
Charismatic Legitimacy
• Opposite of traditional
• Charisma as the force of ideas
• Embodied in a single individual
• Example: Hitler, Martin Luther King
• Weakly institutionalized
Rational-Legal Legitimacy
• Based on neither rituals nor force of ideas
• Based on laws, procedures
• Rules are key—how did someone come into
power?
• Example: George Bush, though some might
contest this! Bumper sticker: “He’s not my
president”—questioning election process
• Strongly institutionalized
Centralization/Decentralization
How much power does a state have, and where
does that power reside?
• Federalism/unitary
• Strong/weak/failed states
Federalism versus Unitary States
• Federalism: significant powers devolved to the
local level by constitution, not easily taken away
• Examples of powers: taxes, education, security
(local police, militia)
• Examples of federal states: United States,
Germany, Russia, Canada, Mexico
Unitary States
• Power resides with central government
• Can devolve powers to local level, but also take
them away if it chooses
• Examples of unitary states: Britain, Japan,
France, Sweden
Strong versus Weak States
• Strong states are able to carry out basic tasks
expected of them: security, public policy, basic
goods and services
• Weak states less able to fulfill tasks and may
face rivals (organized crime, guerrilla
movements, other states)
• Failed states have lost most of their ability to
monopolize force and provide services
Capacity and Autonomy
• Capacity: ability of states to get things done;
fulfill tasks
• Autonomy: ability to act free from direct public
interference
• Too high autonomy and capacity leads to
authoritarianism; too low, to state failure
• Both depend on the issue at hand—might have
autonomy or capacity in one area but not
another
Weak or Strong State?
US?
• Capacity: high or low? Examples?
• Autonomy: high or low? Examples?
China?
• Capacity: high or low? Examples?
• Autonomy: high or low? Examples?