The State Flashcards
A political association that establishes sovereign
jurisdiction within defined territorial borders, and exercises
authority through a set of permanent institutions.
The State
They are recognizably ‘public’, in that they
are responsible for the collective organization of communal life, and are funded at the public’s expense.
States
What are the different approaches to understanding the state?
- Idealist
- Functionalist
- Organizational
A view of politics that emphasizes the importance of
morality and ideals; philosophical idealism implies that ideas are more ‘real’ than the material world.
Idealism
The idealist approach to the state is more clearly reflected from Hegel’s writings which he identified the three “moments” of social existence, which are:
Family (Particular Altruism)
Civil Society (Universal Egoism)
State (Universal Altruism)
Selflessness of the parents for the good of the children or for the relatives
Particular Altruism
Would argue that everyone should act in ways that are in their self-interest
Universal Egoism
Selflessness is the principle of practice of concern for the welfare of others
Universal Altruism
Approaches to the state focus on the rule or purpose of the state institutions.
Sees that the central function of the state is invariably seen as the maintenance of social order, the state being defined as that set of institutions that uphold order and deliver social stability.
Functionalist Approach
A private sphere of autonomous groups and
associations, independent from state or public authority.
Civil society
View defines the state as the apparatus of the government, in its broadest sense; that is, the set of institutions that are recognizably in “public” in that they responsible for the collective organization of social existence and are funded at the public expense.
It distinguishes clearly between the state and civil society.
Organizational Approach
A sovereign political association within which
citizenship and nationality overlap; one nation within a single state
Nation-state
What are the Five Key Features of the State
- Sovereign
- Public Constitution
- Legitimation
- Domination
- Territorial
(Feature) It exercises absolute and unrestricted power in that it stands above all other association and groups in society.
Sovereign
(Feature) Its constitution must be recognizably “public” in contrast to the “private”.
Public Constitution
(Feature) The decisions of the state are usually accepted as binding on the members of society because its claimed they are made in the public interest or the state supposedly reflects the permanent interest of society.
Legitimation
(Feature) State authority is backed up by coercion; the state must have the capacity to ensure that its laws are obeyed and that transgressors are punished.
Domination
(Feature) The jurisdiction of the state is geographically defined, and encompasses all those who live within the state’s borders, whether they are citizens or non-citizens.
Territorial
What are the Rival Theories of the State?
- The Pluralist state
- The Capitalist state
- The Leviathan state
- The Patriarchal state
(Theory) Has a very clear liberal lineage. It stems
from the belief that the state acts as an ‘umpire’ or ‘referee’ in society
The Pluralist state
A belief in, or commitment to, diversity or multiplicity; or the belief that power in modern societies is widely and evenly distributed.
Pluralism
The duty of the citizen towards the state; the
basis of the state’s right to rule.
Political obligation
A society devoid of political authority and of formal
(legal) checks on the individual; usually employed as a theoretical device.
State of nature
The doctrine that earthly rulers are chosen by God
and thus wield unchallengeable authority; a defense for monarchical absolutism.
Divine right
Literally, ‘without rule’; often used pejoratively to suggest instability, or even chaos.
Anarchy
Is a voluntary agreement made amongst individuals through which an organized society, or state, is brought into existence.
Social Contract
Offers a clear alternative to the pluralist image of the state as a neutral umpire
This view has usually been understood in terms of the classic formulation that the state is nothing but an instrument of class oppression: the state emerges out of, and in a sense reflects, the class system.
The Capitalist State
A Marxist term, denoting the ruling class of a
capitalist society, the owners of productive wealth
Bourgeoisie
A Marxist term, denoteing a class that subsists through the sale of its labor power; strictly speaking, it is not equivalent to the working class
Proletariat
In this view the state act as a ‘nanny’, a desperate to interfere or meddle in every aspect of human existence.
The state is a self-serving monster intent on expansion and aggrandizement, associated with the New Right
The Leviathan State
A more critical and negative view of the state that has been developed by radical feminists, who argue that state power reflects a deeper structure of oppression in the form of patriarchy.
The Patriarchal State
literally means ‘rule by the father’, the domination of
the husband–father within the family, and the subordination of his wife and his children.
Patriarchy
What are The Roles of the State?
- The minimal state
- The developmental state
- The socio-democratic state
- The collective state
- The totalitarian state
The idealistic utopia of classical liberals, whose aim is to ensure that individuals enjoy the widest possible realm of freedom.
The Minimal State
the one that intervenes in economic life with the specific purpose of promoting industrial growth and economic development.
The Developmental State
intervene with a view to bringing about broader social restructuring, usually in accordance with principles such as fairness, equality, and social justice.
Social-democratic states
bring the entirety of economic life under the state control
Collective States
the construction of an all-embracing state, the influence of which penetrates every aspect of human existence
Totalitarian States
The incorporation of national economies into a single ‘borderless’ global economy, through transnational production and capital flows.
Economic globalization
A state which pursues strategies to ensure
long-term competitiveness in a globalized economy.
Competition state
Fast-growing and export-orientated economies
modelled on Japan: for example, South Korea, Taiwan and
Singapore.
Tiger economies
A morally justifiable distribution of material rewards; often seen to imply a bias in favour of equality.
Social Justice
A state that takes primary responsibility for the social welfare of its citizens, discharged through a range of social security, health, education and other services (albeit different in different societies).
Welfare state
The abolition of private property in favour of a
system of common or public ownership.
Stems from a fundamental socialist
preference for common ownership over private property.
Collectivization
The belief that state intervention is the most appropriate means of resolving political problems, or bringing about economic and social development.
Statism
(French) The principle of the absence of religious involvement in government affairs, and of government involvement in religious affairs.
Laïcité
A religious body that is officially endorsed by the state, giving it special privileges, but (usually) not formal political authority.
State religion
