Political Science Notes
The Political Importance of the State
● As the highest form of authority in a particular territory, the sovereign state is, in
theory, above any challenge:
○ There is no higher authority within that territory and no external challenge
to it.
○ No states have the right to tell another state what to do.
○ The first sovereign states emerged in Europe in the 15th and 16th
centuries, replacing the feudal societies in which authority had been
shared between the aristocracy
■ Emperors, kings, princes, dukes and the Roman Catholic Church
(Tilly, 1975).
○ Since that early period, most countries in the world have adopted the
sovereign state model
■ It is the only way to achieve international recognition and some
degree of autonomy.
○ Many former colonies that gained their independence from the 1940s
onwards were not particularly happy about being stuck with colonial-era
borders.
■ Many of the problems of some modern states can be traced to the
historically unnatural nature of how postcolonial state borders
developed.
○ As well, for many of the world's Indigenous peoples, having their own
systems of governance trapped within larger settler state systems can be
intensely frustrating and not all that legitimate.
● Does the concept of sovereignty really describe political reality?
○ In constitutional theory, the state is sovereign, but in practice it faces
challenges from both inside and outside its borders-challenges that limit its
autonomy.
○ In truth, sovereignty has always been something of a myth.
■ There is a crucial distinction between de jure sovereignty (the
legal right to absolute control over a territory) and de facto
sovereignty (the actual ability of a government to wield political
power).
, ○ As David Held (1989, p.216) points out, "Sovereignty has been an
important and useful concept for legal analysis, but it can be a misleading
notion if applied uncritically as a political idea."
■ For example, the concept of sovereignty is problematic when
discussing a so-called "failed state" such as Somalia, which is
unable to perform the basic functions of sovereignty: controlling the
territory, enforcing the laws, collecting taxes, and so on.
■ Some states, which inherited colonial borders, have not developed
based on preexisting national or other groups.
A Typology of the State
● A common way of classifying states is according to how much they intervene in
society and the economy.
○ At one end of the continuum is the so-called night-watchman state
■ The government concentrates on ensuring external and internal
security, plays little role in civil society, and allows business to
operate relatively unhindered.
○ Theoretically, the state's primary duty is to protect the individual's rights to
life, liberty, and property against any threat, external or internal.
○ The idea of the state as night-watchman was central to classical liberal
thought and played a large part in shaping 19th-century politics throughout
the Western settler world, including Canada and the United States.
○ Emphasizing the individual's right to private property, the night-watchman
model continues to be popular with libertarians.
○ Libertarians believe that the state's role should be minimal
○ They also object to the maintenance of a large military force, especially
when it is deployed to fight overseas.
○ Thus, most American libertarians opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, since
it's not the business of governments to intervene in the sovereign affairs of
other countries.
■ The only time military force should be used is in self-defence when
the country is under attack. Nor do libertarians approve of welfare
state programs such as universal health care.
○ Libertarians believe that local governments and private enterprise are the
most efficient providers of the services that citizens really want and need.
The Political Importance of the State
● As the highest form of authority in a particular territory, the sovereign state is, in
theory, above any challenge:
○ There is no higher authority within that territory and no external challenge
to it.
○ No states have the right to tell another state what to do.
○ The first sovereign states emerged in Europe in the 15th and 16th
centuries, replacing the feudal societies in which authority had been
shared between the aristocracy
■ Emperors, kings, princes, dukes and the Roman Catholic Church
(Tilly, 1975).
○ Since that early period, most countries in the world have adopted the
sovereign state model
■ It is the only way to achieve international recognition and some
degree of autonomy.
○ Many former colonies that gained their independence from the 1940s
onwards were not particularly happy about being stuck with colonial-era
borders.
■ Many of the problems of some modern states can be traced to the
historically unnatural nature of how postcolonial state borders
developed.
○ As well, for many of the world's Indigenous peoples, having their own
systems of governance trapped within larger settler state systems can be
intensely frustrating and not all that legitimate.
● Does the concept of sovereignty really describe political reality?
○ In constitutional theory, the state is sovereign, but in practice it faces
challenges from both inside and outside its borders-challenges that limit its
autonomy.
○ In truth, sovereignty has always been something of a myth.
■ There is a crucial distinction between de jure sovereignty (the
legal right to absolute control over a territory) and de facto
sovereignty (the actual ability of a government to wield political
power).
, ○ As David Held (1989, p.216) points out, "Sovereignty has been an
important and useful concept for legal analysis, but it can be a misleading
notion if applied uncritically as a political idea."
■ For example, the concept of sovereignty is problematic when
discussing a so-called "failed state" such as Somalia, which is
unable to perform the basic functions of sovereignty: controlling the
territory, enforcing the laws, collecting taxes, and so on.
■ Some states, which inherited colonial borders, have not developed
based on preexisting national or other groups.
A Typology of the State
● A common way of classifying states is according to how much they intervene in
society and the economy.
○ At one end of the continuum is the so-called night-watchman state
■ The government concentrates on ensuring external and internal
security, plays little role in civil society, and allows business to
operate relatively unhindered.
○ Theoretically, the state's primary duty is to protect the individual's rights to
life, liberty, and property against any threat, external or internal.
○ The idea of the state as night-watchman was central to classical liberal
thought and played a large part in shaping 19th-century politics throughout
the Western settler world, including Canada and the United States.
○ Emphasizing the individual's right to private property, the night-watchman
model continues to be popular with libertarians.
○ Libertarians believe that the state's role should be minimal
○ They also object to the maintenance of a large military force, especially
when it is deployed to fight overseas.
○ Thus, most American libertarians opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, since
it's not the business of governments to intervene in the sovereign affairs of
other countries.
■ The only time military force should be used is in self-defence when
the country is under attack. Nor do libertarians approve of welfare
state programs such as universal health care.
○ Libertarians believe that local governments and private enterprise are the
most efficient providers of the services that citizens really want and need.
