State and Its

Elements
 INTRODUCTION

The modern term “state” is derived from the word

“status”. It was Niccolo Machiavelli ( 1469 – 1527) who
first used the term “state” in his writings. His
important work is titled as “Prince”.
The state is the most universal and most powerful of
all social institutions. The state is a natural institution.
Aristotle said man is a social animal and by nature he is
a political being. To him, to live in the state and to be a
man were identical.
 Definitions

The state is the highest form of human association. It

is necessary because it comes into existence out of the
basic needs of life. It continues to remain for the sake of
good life
To Woodrow Wilson, “State is a people organized
for law within a definite territory.”
Aristotle defined the state as a “union of families
and villages having for its end a perfect and self – sufficing
life by which it meant a happy and good life”. Burgess
defines the state as “a particular portion of mankind
viewed as an organized unit.”
 THE ELEMENTS OF STATE

From the above definitions, it is clear that the following

are the elements of the state :-
Physical bases of the State
1. Population
2. Territory
Political bases of the State
1. Government
2. Sovereignty
 THE ELEMENTS OF STATE

Population Territory Government

Sovereignty

Population
It is the people who make the state. Population is essential
for the state. Greek thinkers were of the view that the
population should neither be too big nor too small.
According to Plato the ideal number would be 5040.
According to Aristotle, the number should be neither too
large nor too small. It should be large enough to be self
sufficing and small enough to be well governed.
 THE ELEMENTS OF STATE

Population
Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle thinking on the
number was based on small city – states like Athens and
Sparta. Modern states vary in population. India has a more
than 1 billion population according to 2001 census.
 THE ELEMENTS OF STATE

Territory
There can be no state without a fixed territory. People
need territory to live and organize themselves socially and
politically. It may be remembered that the territory of the
state includes land, water and air – space.
The modern states differ in their sizes. Territory is
necessary for citizenship. As in the case of population, no
definite size with regard to extent of area of the state can
be fixed. There are small and big states.
 THE ELEMENTS OF STATE

Government: Government is the third element of the

state. There can be no state without government.
Government is the working agency of the state. It is the
political organization of the state.
Prof. Appadorai defined government as the agency
through which the force of the State is formulated,
expressed and realized.
According to C.F. Strong, in order to make and enforce
laws the state must have highest authority. This is called
the Government.
 THE ELEMENTS OF STATE

Sovereignty :
The fourth essential element of the state is sovereignty.
The word ”sovereignty” means supreme and final legal
authority above and beyond which no legal power exists
Sovereignty has two aspects :
1) Internal sovereignty
2) External sovereignty
Internal sovereignty means that the State is supreme
over all its citizens, and associations.
External sovereignty means that the state is
independent and free from foreign or outside control.
 Concept of state in Islam.

• The conception of a state in Islam is that of a

commonwealth of all the Muslims living as one
community under the guidance and direction of a
supreme executive head. Islamic state is a state
in which every Muslim has a right to serve his life
according to the principles of Quran and Sunnah.
• Islam is a complete code of life.
 (I) Sovereignty of Allah
• Sovereignty of Allah is the fundamental principle of the
Islamic concept of state. In Islam, sovereignty does and
can belong to Allah and no one can claim to be
sovereign. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnicompetent
and omnipresent. The principle of Allah’s sovereignty
does not recognize the possibility of dictatorship
absolute monarchy or autocracy in an Islamic state.
“To Allah belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and
the earth.” (42: 48)
“It is He who gives life and death He has power over all
things.” (42: 48)
 (II) Khilafat

• The Holy Quran proclaims the vicegerency of

man. The institution of Khilafat came into being
after the demise of the Holy Prophet (Peace be
Upon Him). Under the sovereignty of Allah and
the authority of His law, the caliph is the temporal
ruler of the state and the defender of the faith.
Quran says:
“And when the Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am
about to place a khalifi (vicegerent) in the earth.”
(2: 30)
 (III) Government by consultation

• Mutual consultation among the Muslims is a

commandment of the Holy Quran and an
injunction of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet
(Peace be Upon Him).
Quran says:
“The affairs of state are run by their mutual
consultation.” (Surah-Ash-Shura)
The institution of Maijlis-e-Shoora was developed
by the Khulfa-e-Rashideen after wards.
• (IV) Obedience of the Ruler
The Quranic injunction calls upon the Muslims to
obey the supreme commander among them.
(V) Participation of public in state affairs
Muslims shall be consulted in the affairs of state
through their leaders in whom they profess
confidence
(VI) Equality of all mankind
In Islam, is no distinction or discrimination of man
and man on the ground of race, colour, language,
profession or country. All persons are equal in
Islamic state.
• (VII) Aml Al Maruf wall Nahi An-Al-Munkar
(order good and punish wrong)
Islam enjoins the state to maintain morality. It
asks the Muslims and the ruler to order good and
punish wrong.
(VIII) Collection of Zakat
Collection of Zakat is one of the essential
functions of the Islamic state and a primary duty
of the Muslims.
 Functions of the State
• The state has three legitimate functions:
• (1) Provide protection to those living within its
jurisdiction from being harmed by others;
• (2) Provide for the common defense of those living
within its jurisdiction;
• (3) Provide for the common welfare of those living
within its jurisdiction (food and water, housing,
medicine, education, transportation, the arts, and
a fulfilling occupation).
All three functions are based on the principle of
advancing individual freedom by enabling the full
development of each human person.
 Organs of Government Legislator

Branches of government

Legislature Executive Judiciary

 Branches of Government

Legislature:
The legislature is the law-making branch. The legislature
has an important role in the adjustment of the
constitution. The legislature is a deliberative body
where matters of social, economic and political
concerns are discussed, debated and decided.
 Branches of Government

Executive:
It is one of the three branches of government as given
above. State functions through the executive, the namely
the government. It is the duty of the executive or enforce
the laws passed by the legislature. The executive who
exercise real power is the real executive. The executive
who has nominal power is the normal executive.
 Powers and functions of executive are

1. Enforcing law
2. Maintaining peace and order.
3. Repelling aggression (violence).
4. Building friendly relations with other states
5. When necessary, to wage war to protect the country.
6. Making appointments to higher posts.
7. Raising money and spending them.
8. Convening the sessions of the legislature and
conducting business.
9. Issues ordinances whenever the legislature is to in
session.
10. Implement schemes and projects to improve the
social and economic conditions of the people.
11. Power to grant pardon, reprieve or remission of
punishment.
 Judiciary

Judiciary:
Judiciary is the third important organ of the government
Machinery (equipment). Its main function is to interrupter
laws and administer justice.
Functions of Judiciary:
1. Administration of justice.
2. To determine what is law and what is the cope (deal
with ) and meaning of it.
3. To give advisory opinion on matters referred to it.
4. To issue orders or writs for the purpose of preventing
violation of rights and laws.
5. To acts as guardian of the constitution
 Forms of Government

• Governments can be classified into several types.

Some of the more common types of governments
are:
• 1. Democracy The word "democracy" literally
means "rule by the people." In a democracy, the
people govern.
• 2. Republic   A literal democracy is impossible in
a political system containing more than a few
people. All "democracies" are really republics. In
a republic, the people elect representatives to
make and enforce laws.
• 3. Monarchy
A monarchy consists of rule by a king or queen.
Sometimes a king is called an "emperor,"
especially if there is a large empire, such as
China before 1911. There are no large
monarchies today. The United Kingdom, which
has a queen, is really a republic because the
queen has virtually no political power.
• 4. Aristocracy An aristocracy is rule by the
aristocrats. Aristocrats are typically wealthy,
educated people. Many monarchies have really
been ruled by aristocrats. Today, typically, the
term "aristocracy" is used negatively to accuse a
republic of being dominated by rich people, such
as saying, "The United States has become an
aristocracy."
• 5. Dictatorship A dictatorship consists of rule by
one person or a group of people. Very few
dictators admit they are dictators; they almost
always claim to be leaders of democracies. The
dictator may be one person, such as Castro in
Cuba or Hitler in Germany, or a group of people,
such as the Communist Party in China.
• 6. Democratic Republic   Usually, a "democratic
republic" is not democratic and is not a republic. A
government that officially calls itself a "democratic
republic" is usually a dictatorship. Communist
dictatorships have been especially prone to use
this term. For example, the official name of North
Vietnam was "The Democratic Republic of
Vietnam." China uses a variant, "The People's
Republic of China."
 Law, Liberty and Equality

• Law is a system of rules that are enforced

through social institutions to govern behaviour.
• The Law of Pakistan is the law and legal system
existing in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Pakistani law is based upon the legal system of
British India; thus ultimately on the common law
of England and Wales.
• The political ideology was largely sculpted by the
likes of individuals such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah
(Quaid-e Azam)- the founder of Pakistan- while
studying Law at Lincoln's Inn in London, he became
an admirer of British liberalism. It was the these
influences that led to the Pakistani common law
being based upon the common law of England and
Wales. He took on the role as titular figurehead of
Pakistani politics and as a result Pakistan is now a
common law system, with an adversarial court
procedure and follows other common law practices
such as judicial precedent.
• However, Pakistan differs from the classic common law in
many way. Firstly, both the criminal and civil laws are
almost completely codified, a legacy from the days of the
British Raj, when English laws were extended to India by
ways of statute. Jury trials have been phased out in
Pakistan since independence, because of judicial and
public dissatisfaction with their operation; one Pakistani
judge called jury trials as "amateur justice". In
constitutional law matters Pakistani jurisprudence has
been greatly influenced by the United States legal
System, Pakistan has adopted a US-style Federal
Structure. Islamic law and traditional jirga-based law has
also influenced the country's judicial development.
 Equality
• "Equality" can mean equal material goods and income,
equal social status, and equal general success and
"happiness" in life.
• It can mean equality before the law, which is in a different
and higher category, and without which liberty would be
precarious.
• However, there is no necessary connection between
equality before the law and equal property, power, and so
forth.
• Equality before the law is the "natural" state in a political
society, but equality of goods and social life in general is
"unnatural," and would take a great amount of regulation
and coercion to achieve and sustain.
 Liberty

• Liberty is the absence of coercion, the individual’s

right to do whatever he chooses with his life and
property as long as he does not directly harm
others.
• There are other definitions of liberty currently
being bounced around; however, we will use the
concept that does not necessitate the state’s
constant empirical coercion of the individual in
order to reach a higher metaphysi­cal realm of
freedom.
 Scope of Government

• Rule by authoritarian governments is identified in societies where a specific set of people

possess the authority of the state in a republic or union. It is a political system controlled
by unelected rulers who usually permit some degree of individual freedom. Rule by a
totalitarian government is characterized by a highly centralized and coercive authority
that regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life.

• In contrast, a constitutional republic is rule by a government whose powers are limited by

law or a formal constitution and chosen by a vote amongst at least some sections of the
populace. Republics that exclude sections of the populace from participation will typically
claim to represent all citizens (by defining people without the vote as "non-citizens").
Examples include the United States, South Africa, India, etc.

• Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by

covenant (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. The term
"federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is
constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political
units (such as states or provinces). Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules
and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and
provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation. Proponents are
often called federalists.