FUNDAMENTALS OF LAW
AND GOVERNMENT
Basic Concepts
Part 1
Society
What is society?
Society is a group of people whose members live by ommon rules of
conudct and which has a plausible claim to self-sufficiency
other definition: Society is a group of people who share a defined
territory and a culture. It encompasses also a social structure and
interactions of that group of people. Social structure is the relatively
enduring patterns of behaviour and relationships within a society.
Therefore, a society is not only the group of people and their culture,
but the relationships between the people and the institutions within
that group.
Does the society have boundries?
What is the difference betwen humans and other social animals?
 State

What is state?
State is definied joint presence of 3 factors: population, territory and
sovereignty. State exists when a sovereign power rules over a
population residing within the boundries of a fixed territory. (Georg
Jellinek’s definition)
State is a human community that succesfully claims the monopoliy of
the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory (Max
Weber’s definition)

What is the origin of a state?
There are different theories: Theory of conquest, theory of the division
of work, theory of specialization in the process of production,
theories that state was given by God, theories of social contract

What are the functions of state?

Is international recognition necessary for the state to exist?

And what is anarchy?
 Government

What is Government?

Why is the difference between government and the society?

Why some rules need to by enforced?
 Power

What is power?

How can we exercise our power?

-persuasion

- coercion
 Authority
[autorytet, Authorität, autorité]

What is authority?

Why do we follow authority?

What is natural authority?

What is public authority?
 Legitimacy

What is legitimacy?

Why legitimacy is so important?

What are the sources of legitimacy according to Max Weber?

What is a legitimacy based on tradition?

What is a legitimacy based on legal norms?

What is a legitimacy based on charisma?

Are there any other sources of legitimacy?

A Concept by Seymour G. Lipset: legitimacy can be based on
effectivness – instumental ability of the democratic organs to
fullfill their purposes.
authority -------------------------- legitimacy ------------------------- obligation
Right to command
belief in rightness of government
sense of duty