Condition

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Jonah Lester
Condition
The state is made up of four elements: population, territory, government and sovereignty

What is the state?

The Condition it is defined as a political unit with the power to make laws and enforce them by a group of people who live within a specifically determined territory. Therefore, it is a territorially delimited sovereign government system, which is governed on behalf of a community of citizens who identify themselves as a nation..

The legitimacy of the government of a State over a territory and over the population that inhabits it derives from the right to self-determination of a national group within the State.

The members of the national group consider that the State belongs to them and that the State's territory is their homeland. Consequently, they demand that other groups, both inside and outside the state, recognize and respect their control over it..

State elements

A state has different elements:

Population

The population refers to a group of people, regardless of the number, who inhabit a certain physical space, also maintaining a physical relationship with it..

That is, it is a group of inhabitants who are settled on a certain territory, related by the fact of their coexistence. The population obtains the characteristic of community when it has common components of a religious, historical or economic nature.

Territory

Territory of the United Mexican States

As a geographical element of the State, the territory is the air, land and maritime space over which the State entity exercises its power. As an element of the State, legal theory reasons the territory as the spatial perimeter where the legal order is valid.

Legally, the territory encompasses a three-dimensional space that includes the space located below and above the earth plane, in addition to the earth plane as such..

Upwards, the sovereignty that each State has over the airspace relevant to its land surface is recognized. Downwards, it is assumed that the territorial spatial scope takes the figure of a cone whose vertex is in the center of the planet.

government

The government is made up of different institutions that are part of one of the three powers.

The government is the main element of the state; It is about the group of people that governs the State. In the case of a democratic state, a political party governs that manages the population.

The government is made up of three branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch..

  • The executive branch executes policies and laws, and manages the State on a daily basis, making political and administrative decisions. The President of the government is the representative of the executive branch.
  • The legislative branch creates laws that must be followed by the population of a state. Normally this power is formed by a chamber of legislators elected by the people..
  • The judiciary has the function of dispensing justice within the State. It is made up of judicial institutions, courts and tribunals.

Sovereignty

It is an essential factor that makes a state legal and real. This is the ability of a State to keep all the territories it possesses under total control, without any external influence. Without sovereignty, a state would be just a colony.

  • Principle of state sovereignty

It was articulated for the first time in the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which recognizes the right of States to govern their territories without external interference..

  • Principle of national sovereignty

It recognizes the right of the communities of a country to govern themselves. It is based on the principle of popular sovereignty, according to which States belong to their peoples.

This implies that the legitimate government of a state requires some kind of consent on the part of the people. However, this requirement does not mean that all states are democratic..

In fact, many authoritarian rulers have come forward as rulers on behalf of a sovereign nation..

Characteristics of a State

Permanence

The state is always permanent, no matter what government it is and how it changes over time. Permanence is the factor that helps the State to develop independently in its own way.

Recognition

The territory called State must be recognized by other States and by all existing international organizations. International recognition prevents the outbreak of wars, the violation of borders and other interference in the life of the State.

Taxes

Taxation in a State is a system to finance government bodies with the funds of the people. In exchange for this, the state protects citizens and provides them with what they need.

System of laws

It is a system of rules established and accepted by the State. The system of laws associated with a State has several specific characteristics:

  • It is mandatory for everyone.
  • Determine the rules of behavior.
  • It is maintained by law enforcement officers.
  • It is sanctioned by the State.

State Types

Authoritarian states

Authoritarian states are characterized by the fact that those who have power are people who were not elected.

Totalitarianism is a political system that strives to regulate almost all aspects of public and private life. Totalitarian regimes remain in political power through ubiquitous official ideology and propaganda.

This propaganda is disseminated through the state-controlled media, a single party that controls the state, personality cults, control of the economy, regulation and restriction of freedom of discussion and criticism, use of mass surveillance. and state terrorism.

Dictatorship

Dictatorship and totalitarianism are often associated, but in reality they are two separate phenomena. Dictatorship is a form of government in which the ruler has the power to govern without the consent of the governed.

Dictatorship can also be defined as a system that does not conform to democracy, being defined as a form of government where the rulers are selected through elections. The power of a dictator can originate from his family, political position or military authority.

Oligarchic states

An oligarchy is a form of government in which power rests with a small elite segment of society, distinguished by their royalty, wealth, family, military or religious hegemony.

An oligarchy is different from a democracy as such, because those who exercise power are very few people. It does not have to be hereditary or monarchical. There is not a single person who stands out in command, but several people with power govern. For example, a theocracy.

Democratic states

Democracy is a form of government in which the right to govern is in the hands of the majority of the citizens of a country or state. The two principles of a democracy are that all citizens have equal access to power and that all enjoy universally recognized freedoms..

There are several varieties of democracy, some of which give their citizens better representation and more freedom than others..

However, if a democracy is not carefully legislated, maintaining balances such as the separation of powers to avoid an unequal distribution of political power, then one caste of the governing system could accumulate power and become detrimental to democracy as such..

Freedom of expression, freedom of the press and politics are essential for citizens to be informed and to vote for their personal interests.

Monarchy

It is a form of State where the supreme power is housed in an absolute or nominal way in a person, who is the Head of State, often for life or until his abdication. The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch.

There is no clear definition of monarchy. Some monarchs have unlimited political power, while many constitutional monarchies, such as the UK and Thailand, have monarchs with limited political power.

A common feature is often hereditary rule, although elective monarchies, such as the Pope, are also considered monarchies..

Some states have hereditary rulers, but are considered republics, such as the Dutch Republic. Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as Heads of State.

Theocracy

It is a form of government where a God or deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler of the State, that is, the State is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who consider themselves guided by divinity. The laws they enact are only dictated by God.

Theocracies are different from other secular forms of government that have a religion, or that are simply influenced by theological or moral concepts, in addition to monarchies maintained "by the grace of God.".

State Examples

You can put numerous examples of State. Basically, in each country there is a State with a specific population, with a specific territory and with a government with its three powers:

  • Mexico state.
  • State of Colombia.
  • State of Spain.
  • USA.
  • State of Peru.
  • State of Ecuador.
  • State of Argentina.
  • State of norway.
  • State of France.
  • State of germany.
  • State of china.
  • State of Japan.

State and nation

The State refers to a political organization to govern a population and territory. Meanwhile, the nation does not have a component of government or power; rather, it refers to the group of people who live in the same territory, with the same history, religion, traditions, language and customs.

State and government

Government refers to the main political group or group of people who have power in a state. In a democratic state the government is elected by elections, while in a dictatorship the government is imposed by force.

State and territorial organization

The territorial organization of a State refers to the way in which a country is divided to apply laws and government.

For example, the United Mexican States is divided into 31 Free and Sovereign States and Mexico City. In turn, these states are divided into municipalities.

In Spain there are 17 autonomous communities and each one is divided into provinces. Likewise, the provinces are divided into municipalities.

State and province

The province is an administrative division of a state. Normally the provinces are recognized in the constitutions of each State.

Themes of interest

Elements of the Mexican State.

References

  1. Evelyn Bankole (2018). 8 characteristics of a state. Taken from: legit.ng.
  2. Britannica (2020). Nation-state. Taken from: britannica.com.
  3. UNAM (2020). Elements of the Mexican State. Taken from: archivos.juridicas.unam.mx.
  4. Lumen (2020). Types of States. Taken from: courses.lumenlearning.com.
  5. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2020). State (polity). Taken from: en.wikipedia.org.
  6. Britannica (2020). State. Taken from: britannica.com.

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