1. Politics* 5. Collective goods 8. Traditional vs.
2. State* 6. Unitary vs. federal charismatic vs. rational-
3. Sovereignty* states legal authority
4. Monopoly of legitimate 7. Strong vs. weak states 9. Legitimacy*
violence
Politics:
It is the activity through which people make, amend and preserve the general rules under which they
live. Politics be associated with the art of government and the production, distribution and use of
resources in the course of social existence. It is a public activity that is associated with the conduct of
management rather than with the private concerns of the individual.
An example of politics is the new tempo limit rule. This rule contents that our speed limit is 100km/h,
the government made this so that it is safer for us, less accidents, better for the infrastructure and
the environment. Even though some people dislike this new rule there is no priority for the private
concerns of the individual.
State*
A state is a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined territorial
borders and exercises authority through a set of permanent institutions.
Three core features of the state are a geographic territory with internationally and recognized
boundaries, an identifiable population who lives within these boundaries and a recognized
government.
An example of a state is California. It is a state with its own government and a political organisation
that exercises authority over their population and it is legitimized by law.
Sovereignty*
Sovereignty is the full, absolute and unlimited power of a governing body to govern itself without any
interference from outside bodies. In other words it is the ability to act within a territory
independently of internal or external rivals. Sovereignty can be divided into legal, political, internal
and external sovereignty.
An example of a country that has sovereignty is the Netherlands. The government has full and
unlimited power and they govern itself without any interference. They act within a territory without
interference from outside bodies. Besides that we are also an independent country.
Monopoly of legitimate violence
A monopoly of legitimate violence is one of the key features of the state because without it there
would only be chaos.
Monopoly of legitimate violence is the use of violence in a legitimate way only when the
circumstances ask for it. The state is the only one who can use this kind of violence. People using this
type of power will not go to jail for it.
An example of this are the army, public policy and secret authorities. They only act if they think there
is a possible threat. They all use legitimized violence without being charged for it.
Collective goods
The distribution of collective goods are one of the key features of the state.
1
, A collective good is a good where it is impossible to exclude people who do not pay when using the
good and where the consumption by one does not come at the expense of consumption by the
other. They are more broadly defined as goods that are only supplied, paid for and maintained by the
government but which citizens can use free of charge.
An example of collective goods are street lights. No one can be excluded from using this. Street lights
are provided by the government and are financed by taxation.
Unitary vs. federal states
A unitary state is a state whose power lies exclusively with a central government. It has the most
power at the national level and is a little regional authority. For example France.
They have a long tradition of a unitary government. The strong national central government
dominates the small local government decisions.
A federal state is a state that consists of different states. These different states forms a union with
other states. It has a significant power given to regional bodies by constitution. For example the USA.
The USA consist of different states and have shared power between each US state and the US federal
government in Washington.
Strong vs weak states:
States can be seen as an important key feature in politics and can be classified in various manners,
for instance along territorial organization.
A strong state can be defined by five notions. The first one is strength; a geographic spread of
population. The second is size for instance Germany vs Slovenia. The third one is military might such
as the army of the united states of the USA vs the army of Iraq. The fourth one is robustness of state
institutions; extent to which they can withstand pressure from society and be able to implement
decisions. The fifth one is legitimacy; the right to rule.
A strong state is for example the USA. The country is very big, has a good strength of economy, has a
lot of military might, it has legitimacy and robustness of the state.
Traditional vs. charismatic vs. rational-legal authority
Authority is a form of power and an acknowledged duty to obey rather than through coercion or
manipulation.
There are three types of authority. The first one is a traditional authority, it derives from traditional
customs and values. The second one is a charismatic authority, it derives from personal traits of an
individual. The third one is a rational-legal authority, it derives from history, tradition and the status
of an office as part of a system of constitutional rulers.
An example of one of the authorities, the rational-legal authority, is francois Hollande, former
president of France. He has an authority in his rational legal office, but once he leaves his office he
does not have authority.
Legitimacy*
Legitimacy is one of the key features of the state. It is important that this concept is maintained in
order to keep the balance.
2
2. State* 6. Unitary vs. federal charismatic vs. rational-
3. Sovereignty* states legal authority
4. Monopoly of legitimate 7. Strong vs. weak states 9. Legitimacy*
violence
Politics:
It is the activity through which people make, amend and preserve the general rules under which they
live. Politics be associated with the art of government and the production, distribution and use of
resources in the course of social existence. It is a public activity that is associated with the conduct of
management rather than with the private concerns of the individual.
An example of politics is the new tempo limit rule. This rule contents that our speed limit is 100km/h,
the government made this so that it is safer for us, less accidents, better for the infrastructure and
the environment. Even though some people dislike this new rule there is no priority for the private
concerns of the individual.
State*
A state is a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined territorial
borders and exercises authority through a set of permanent institutions.
Three core features of the state are a geographic territory with internationally and recognized
boundaries, an identifiable population who lives within these boundaries and a recognized
government.
An example of a state is California. It is a state with its own government and a political organisation
that exercises authority over their population and it is legitimized by law.
Sovereignty*
Sovereignty is the full, absolute and unlimited power of a governing body to govern itself without any
interference from outside bodies. In other words it is the ability to act within a territory
independently of internal or external rivals. Sovereignty can be divided into legal, political, internal
and external sovereignty.
An example of a country that has sovereignty is the Netherlands. The government has full and
unlimited power and they govern itself without any interference. They act within a territory without
interference from outside bodies. Besides that we are also an independent country.
Monopoly of legitimate violence
A monopoly of legitimate violence is one of the key features of the state because without it there
would only be chaos.
Monopoly of legitimate violence is the use of violence in a legitimate way only when the
circumstances ask for it. The state is the only one who can use this kind of violence. People using this
type of power will not go to jail for it.
An example of this are the army, public policy and secret authorities. They only act if they think there
is a possible threat. They all use legitimized violence without being charged for it.
Collective goods
The distribution of collective goods are one of the key features of the state.
1
, A collective good is a good where it is impossible to exclude people who do not pay when using the
good and where the consumption by one does not come at the expense of consumption by the
other. They are more broadly defined as goods that are only supplied, paid for and maintained by the
government but which citizens can use free of charge.
An example of collective goods are street lights. No one can be excluded from using this. Street lights
are provided by the government and are financed by taxation.
Unitary vs. federal states
A unitary state is a state whose power lies exclusively with a central government. It has the most
power at the national level and is a little regional authority. For example France.
They have a long tradition of a unitary government. The strong national central government
dominates the small local government decisions.
A federal state is a state that consists of different states. These different states forms a union with
other states. It has a significant power given to regional bodies by constitution. For example the USA.
The USA consist of different states and have shared power between each US state and the US federal
government in Washington.
Strong vs weak states:
States can be seen as an important key feature in politics and can be classified in various manners,
for instance along territorial organization.
A strong state can be defined by five notions. The first one is strength; a geographic spread of
population. The second is size for instance Germany vs Slovenia. The third one is military might such
as the army of the united states of the USA vs the army of Iraq. The fourth one is robustness of state
institutions; extent to which they can withstand pressure from society and be able to implement
decisions. The fifth one is legitimacy; the right to rule.
A strong state is for example the USA. The country is very big, has a good strength of economy, has a
lot of military might, it has legitimacy and robustness of the state.
Traditional vs. charismatic vs. rational-legal authority
Authority is a form of power and an acknowledged duty to obey rather than through coercion or
manipulation.
There are three types of authority. The first one is a traditional authority, it derives from traditional
customs and values. The second one is a charismatic authority, it derives from personal traits of an
individual. The third one is a rational-legal authority, it derives from history, tradition and the status
of an office as part of a system of constitutional rulers.
An example of one of the authorities, the rational-legal authority, is francois Hollande, former
president of France. He has an authority in his rational legal office, but once he leaves his office he
does not have authority.
Legitimacy*
Legitimacy is one of the key features of the state. It is important that this concept is maintained in
order to keep the balance.
2
