L4. The State in Political Geography Flashcards
What is the origin of the modern state system?
The Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
- start of modern state clearly marked by this treaty
- territorial states now have a direct and bilateral diplomatic relations rather than an empire
- leads of absolutist monarchies
- sovereignty as a term for state and not monarchs
What is Max Weber’s definition of the state?
“A state is a human community the (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory… the dominated must obey the authority claimed bit the powers that be”
What is Tilly’s definition of a state?
“relatively centralized differentiated organizations the officials of which more or less successfully claim control over the chief concentrated means of violence within a population inhabiting a large contiguous territory”
- isn’t concerned with legitimacy
What is Taylor’s theory of states as power containers?
Idea that the state is power container that has four basic tasks
- power: origin of states, wage war
- wealth: economy, spending money, taxes
- culture: provide or construct national identities
- society: provide social services and welfare to their population
How many states are in existence today?
- depends on what you count as a state
- key to being a state is being recognized by other states
- Un: 193 member states, 2 observer states, 11 “other” states
How do modern states disappear?
- Civil war
- Succession
- Conquest
What are failed states?
- regions that are formally controlled by states but areas of the region where there is no functioning state
- no monopoly on violence
- no political entities acting as power, wealth, social, culture, container
- often aren’t invaded or annexed, says something about the stability of state system
- no container (Taylor)
What are high and low politics?
high:
- major issues
- construction issues
- security of the state
low:
- everyday stuff
- modern states arguably becoming more common “welfare states”
