The State
Defining the State
State- Political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined
territorial borders, and exercises authority through a set of permanent institutions
Institutions are seen as ‘public’
Responsible for collective organisation of communal life
Funded at public’s expense
Differences between State and Government
State Government
State is more extensive Government forms part of the state
State is continuing, permanent Government is temporary, it comes and
goes
State is where government policies are Government is the ‘brains’ of state
operationalised
State exercises impersonal power Government is dominated by political
party/parties
State represents permanent interests of Government represents partisan
society sympathies of ruling party
The state has been understood in four ways:
1. Idealist Perspective
Social existence consist of family, civil society and the state
Drawback:
1
, Fails to distinguish between institutions inside the state and outside the
state
2. Functionalist Perspective
Function of the state: to maintain social order; state therefore consists of institutions that
uphold order and deliver social stability
Drawback:
Tends to associate any institution that maintains order with the state
(family, media, etc.)
3. Organisational Perspective
Defined state as the apparatus of government –all institutions that are ‘public’
Responsible for collective organisation of social existence; funded at
public’s expense
Thus clear distinction between state (institutions: military, police, courts,
etc.) and civil society (the people)
‘Rolling forward’ and ‘rolling back’ of the state
Key features of the state:
State is sovereign
State is public
State is legitimate
State is an instrument of domination
State is a territorial association
4. International Perspective
Views the state as an actor on the world state (the basic ‘unit’ in international politics)
Thus state has dualistic character: inward vs. outward
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Defining the State
State- Political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined
territorial borders, and exercises authority through a set of permanent institutions
Institutions are seen as ‘public’
Responsible for collective organisation of communal life
Funded at public’s expense
Differences between State and Government
State Government
State is more extensive Government forms part of the state
State is continuing, permanent Government is temporary, it comes and
goes
State is where government policies are Government is the ‘brains’ of state
operationalised
State exercises impersonal power Government is dominated by political
party/parties
State represents permanent interests of Government represents partisan
society sympathies of ruling party
The state has been understood in four ways:
1. Idealist Perspective
Social existence consist of family, civil society and the state
Drawback:
1
, Fails to distinguish between institutions inside the state and outside the
state
2. Functionalist Perspective
Function of the state: to maintain social order; state therefore consists of institutions that
uphold order and deliver social stability
Drawback:
Tends to associate any institution that maintains order with the state
(family, media, etc.)
3. Organisational Perspective
Defined state as the apparatus of government –all institutions that are ‘public’
Responsible for collective organisation of social existence; funded at
public’s expense
Thus clear distinction between state (institutions: military, police, courts,
etc.) and civil society (the people)
‘Rolling forward’ and ‘rolling back’ of the state
Key features of the state:
State is sovereign
State is public
State is legitimate
State is an instrument of domination
State is a territorial association
4. International Perspective
Views the state as an actor on the world state (the basic ‘unit’ in international politics)
Thus state has dualistic character: inward vs. outward
2
