Chapter 4 Flashcards
States
Academically, states are referred to as a country, rather than the normal usage like states of NC, SC, GA., etc. For example, Max Weber defined a state as an organization with a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence in a fixed territory.
What are the three key principles of state sovereignty?
- Territorial monopoly (Ownership of exclusive chunk of land, along with applied systematic rules)
- Control of Violence at the Core
- States monopolize legitimate violence
For example, British, Israeli, and America are deemed states based on political academia.
What were “early” states that organized socially called before modern times?
- Empire (Africa, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Persian civilizations)
- Colonialism (the act of rapid Empire constructions for agrarian and control of property, land ownership, along with their peasants)
- Religious authority over rulers
- Feudalism=territory and political power dispersed through regions
What social and historical factors contributed to the Rise of the State?
- Modern warfare, which contributed to the Protestant Reformation. It weakened religious social organizations such as the Catholic Church (circa 1517), which remains one of the largest property owners in the world.
- Technological advances: longbow, cannons (French and British)
Youtube Video clip - Explaining history of Europe [2600 BC - 2020 AD] Yearly
“The history of Europe covers the peoples inhabiting Europe from prehistory to the present. The period known as classical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states of ancient Greece. Later, the Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean basin. The fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476 traditionally marks the start of the Middle Ages. Beginning in the 14th century a Renaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science and theology. Simultaneously, the Protestant Reformation set up Protestant churches primarily in Germany, Scandinavia and England. After 1800, the Industrial Revolution brought prosperity to Britain and Western Europe. The main powers set up colonies in most of the Americas and Africa, and parts of Asia. In the 20th century, World War I and World War II resulted in massive numbers of deaths.”
Sovereignty
The principle of a state sovereignty is the notion that one organization holds supreme authority over a territory.
Feudalism
A social system of duty in which people worked for a lord (king) in return for land and security.
The Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
The Westphalia Treaty marked the end of long periods of religious wars. European rulers also recognized each other’s right to choose their religion - secular or religious. Also, having sovereignty isn’t the same as having “authority,” and rulers had to have “legitimate” rights to have territorial control both externally/internally (within/without state borders). Recognizing each state’s sovereignty was crucial and is still strong today.
Nation
The nation is another model of the territorial organization formed so that like-minded people with similar cultural identities could govern themselves. —The words nation and state were used interchangeably to mean country. However, the meanings are much different. For example, the first states were security organizations with little connections to people within them. And people who lived in France didn’t necessarily identify with the aristocrats running the French state. In other words, the French state today got together over a powerfully united language, culture, and identity - If a state came externally, it could create a nation like France.
Nation-States (States created Nations)
A political model in which people of a sovereign state could create common experiences, languages, and bonds who shared a cultural identity. For example, in France, Britain, and other cases, states developed nations to encourage loyalty, repress rebellions, build armies, collect taxes, and administer the territory.
Nationalists - (Nations created States)
Seekers of unity, recognition, and a distinct state for the members of a nation. Seen as a negative shift of warfare where conflicts between militaries on battlefields to unbarred violence on civilians that occurred in WWI and WWII. – Modern-day Germany, powerful French state, forged together by a brilliant statesman Otto von Bismarck. He blended both states into a single state in 1850s-1860s, were welcomed by the Germans
Decolonization
With the growth of technology and powerfully centralized state model, beyond Europe, was colonialism that combined various groups or separated similar people in South America, Africa, the Middle East and most of Asia. – Thus nationalism movements were provoked and they wanted independent states which sparked decolonization after WWII. However, they maintained their former colonial borders creating states which mapped poorly onto local identities. - - Quasi-permanent internal conflict arose within Iraq and Afghanistan (two countries where the US and its allies tried to foster as a nation-state). Modern-day Iraqi, once strong centrally, has fallen back into a state of civil war. While Afghanistan is one of the poorest places on earth.
unitary states
A state sometimes known as political centralization is when a central government holds all the major political authority/control with the power to make the final authorized decision. Example, Subunits (like French departments, Japanese prefectures (unified nation-state) arose from unitary states, and in the English part of Great Britain.
Federal states
A state where power is shared between both a central government and lower levels of government (decentralized) with irrevocable authority. Example, subunits (like U.S. and Canada provinces)
autonomy
The power or right to act independently from others. Example, Switzerland (most decentralized countries in the world) , developed federalism to allow its German, French and Italian-speaking regions some internal autonomy.
