Concepts Of State & Government Flashcards
What are the elements of the state?
1) People: mass of population living within the state
2) Territory: includes the land, rivers, lakes and certain area of sea which abuts its coasts and airspace
3) Government: refers to the agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed and carried out
4) Sovereignty: supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jursidiction
What are the manifestations of sovereignty?
Internal: power of the state to rule within its territory
External: freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection (independence)
What is the divine right theory?
It is an origin wherein it holds that the state is of divine creation and the ruler is ordained by God to govern the people
What is the Necessity or force theory?
It maintains that state must have been created through force by some great warriors
What is the paternalistic theory?
It attributes the origin of states to the enlargement of the family which remained under the authority of the father and mother
What about social contract theory?
Asserts that early states must have been formed by deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form a society and organize gov’t for their common good
What is the first difference between nation and state
Nation is an ethnic concept.
It is a group of people bound together by certain characteristics
State is a political concept
2nd diff bet state and nation?
State is not subject to external control while a nation may or not be independent of external control
3rd diff bet state and nation
A single state=one or more nation and vice versa
What is a government?
Agency through which the state expresses its will. It can stand without a state. It can change and its form can change
How is the state diff from gov’t?
A state can’t exist without a government. It can stay the same as long as the essential elements are present.
What is one purpose & necessity of gov’t?
Advancement of the public welfare: for protection of society, security of persons and property, administration of justice, preservation of state from external danger
The second necessity and purpose of the gov’t?
Consequence of absence: without gov’t = anarchy, disorder and fear will rise and progress, development and freedom will never be experienced or enjoyed
What is monarchy?
Supreme & final authority is in one person without election, nature or duration
What are the two monarchies?
Absolute - ruler rules by divine right
Limited - ruler rules in accordance w/ consti
What is aristocracy?
Political power is exercised by few privileged class (oligarchy)
Democracy?
Power is exercised by majority of the people
What are the two kinds of democracy?
Direct/ Pure - will of the state is formulated directly through the people in an assembly
Indirect/Republican - will of the state is formulated through select body of persons chose to represent
What is unitary gov’t?
Control of national and local affairs is exercised by the central or national gov’t
Federal gov’t?
Powers of gov’t is divided between two sets of organs. One for national affairs and the other for local affairs.
Parliamentary gov’t?
State confers upon the legislature the power to terminate the tenure of office of the real executive
Presidential gov’t?
State makes exec constitutionally independent of the legislature as regards his tenure & to a large extent as regards his policies and acts
What is a state?
Community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, has a gov’t on their own who and enjoys freedom from external control
