Forms and Functions of State and Non-state Institution

State
At the time of the initial development of the modern human rights system, States were the dominant actors in the
international arena.
A state is an organized political community acting under a government and united by common set of laws. It uses absolute
power in directing the path of a society. It also uses complete political coerciveness, which may come in the form of
armed forces personnel, stricter laws, and rigid government policies in order to attain its societal goals and objectives.
Market exchange is the primary form of economic subsistence of a state wherein standardized currencies are being used to
exchange commodities. States differ in sovereignty, governance, geography, and interests. It may be classified as
sovereign if they are not dependent on, or subject to, any other power or state. Other states are subject to external
sovereignty where ultimate sovereignty lies another state. The concept of the state is different from the concept of
government.
A government is the particular group of people that controls the state at a given time. In other words, governments are the
means through which the state power us employed like applying the rule of law. The concept of the state is also different
from the concept of a nation, which refers to a large geographical area and the people therein who perceives themselves as
having a common identity. The state is a political geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural or ethnic entity. As a state, it
consists of actors with varying interests and assertions, social rules are implemented in the forms of laws.
These laws are created to manage the interaction among individuals and between the individuals and the state. As a citizen
of a country, an individual is subjected to the legal norms in the territory. These norms may include paying taxes,
rendering military services, and contributing to the political life in the society. The State intends to be a strong actor in the
performance of the three important political functions.
The state, in full form, 1. maintains control over violence in its domain 2. allocates resources and rewards at its discretion,
and 3. stands as the major focus of identity for the large majority of the people under its authority.

Elements of the States

1. Population It is the people who make the state. Population is essential for the state. Without population there can
be no State.
2. 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 states includes land, water and airspace.
3. Government It is the organization or machinery or agency of the State which makes, implements, enforces, and
adjudicates the laws of the state.
4. Sovereignty It is the most exclusive elements of State. Without sovereignty no state can exist. State has the
exclusive title and prerogative to exercise supreme power over all its people and territory. It is the basis which the
State regulates all aspects of the life of the people living in its territory.

Forms of States
States come in a variety of forms that vary on who holds power, how positions of leadership are obtained, and how
authority is maintained. These are:
a. Authoritarian Government Authoritarian governments differ in who holds power and in how control they
assume over those who govern. An example of this type is Monarchy.
Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely lodged with an individual, who
is the head of the state, often for life or until abdication. The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch.
Some monarchs hold unlimited political powers while many constitutional monarchies, such as the United
Kingdom and Thailand. Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as head of state.
Totalitarianism is a political system that strives to regulate nearly every aspect of public and private life.
It theoretically permits no individual freedom and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the
authority of the state. Modern examples of totalitarian states include the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Nazi
Germany under Adolf Hitler, the People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong, and North Korea under the Kim
Dynasty.

b. Oligarchic Government An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small-
elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony. An oligarchy
does not have one clear 6 ruler, but several powerful people who rule. One common example is theocracy.
Theocracy is a government by divine guidance or by official who are regarded as divinely guided.
Leaders are members of the clergy, and the state’s legal system is based on religious law. Contemporary examples
of theocracies include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican.
 c. Democratic Government Democracy is a form of government in which the right to governs is held by the
majority of citizens within a country or a state. The two principles of democracy are that all citizens have equal
access to power and that all citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. People can either
become country leaders through electoral process or elect leaders who represent the core values and beliefs. There
are 99 democratic nations globally. Examples of democratic nations are Philippines, Norway, New Zealand,
United States of America, Canada, Columbia, Italy, and South Africa.
Roles of the States
1. State provides security against external aggressions and war. For this purpose, the state maintains an army.
2. State ensures security against internal disturbances disorders and crimes. For this purpose, the state maintains
police.
3. State legally grants and guarantees the rights of the people.
4. The state issues and regulates currency and coinage.
5. State undertakes steps for the creation of necessary conditions for the socio-economic-politico-cultural
development of the people.
6. State grants citizenship and protects their interests and rights.
7. State conducts foreign relations, foreign trade and economic relations.
8. State secures the goals of national interest in international relations.

Non-state Institutions
Nonstate institutions are people and/ or organization that participate in international affairs and relations but are not
affiliated with any state or nation.
These nonstate institutions include the following: bank and corporations, cooperatives and trade unions, transnational
advocacy groups, and development agencies and international organizations. These nonstate institutions are equally
capable of influencing policy formation and implementation.
a. Banks
Bank is a financial institution licensed to provide several financial services to different types of customers. Banks
are in operation mainly for their deposits and lending functions. Customers are allowed to deposit their
www.shsph.blogspot.com 7 money to banks which grow through an interest rate. Banks also provide loans, with
an interest to customers who need money either for personal consumption or for investment and businesses.
Banks may be categorized into major forms such as commercial banks and investment banks.
Forms of Bank
a. Commercial Banks
o Financial deposit with security and convenience which could be in the form of credit cards, debit cards,
and check.
o Provide business, individual, and personal loans, enabling commercial banks to earn interest.
o Serve as payment agents within and outside the country through wire transfer.
o Subjected to more regulations.
b. Investment Banks
o Financial intermediaries that perform a variety of services for businesses and some government.
o Issues securities to the investing public.
o Make markets, facilities, mergers, and other corporate reorganizations.
o Acts as brokers for institutional clients.
o Under the supervision of regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
FINRA, and the US Treasury.
o Subjected to fewer regulations.

The two most well-known financial institutions that are actively shaping the socioeconomic development of
the Philippines are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. They have been providing financial aid to the
Philippine government and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to facilitate their development
objectives.
b. Corporations
It is a form of business operation that declares the business as a separate entity guided by a group of officers
known as the Board of Directors. They were created by individuals, stockholders or shareholders, with the
purpose of operating for profit. They have all legal rights of an individual, except for the right to vote and certain
limitations. They are given the right to exist by the state that issues their charter. Corporation example
www.shsph.blogspot.com 8 includes General Motors Corporation an icon of American craftmanship, Apple
Corporation as one of the famous tech companies, Amazon Corporation founded by Jeff Bezos is the world’s
 leading eCommerce and innovation company, Domino’s Pizza is a global food chain company delivering quality
food worldwide.

Common Types of Corporations

A corporation can be created by a single shareholder or by multiple shareholders who come together to pursue
common goal. A corporate can be formed as a for-profit or a non-for-profit entity.

 For-profit entities form most corporations, and they are formed to generate revenues and provide a return to their
shareholders, according to their percentage of ownership in the corporation. Examples: HBO in partnership with
International Rescue Committee, Ford Motors and Lynda.com.
 Not-for-profit entities operate under the category of charitable organizations, which are dedicated to a particular
social cause such as educational, religious, scientific, or research purposes. Rather than distribute revenues to
shareholders, not-for-profit organizations use their revenues to further their objectives. Human Rights Campaign
is a very impressive example of using Facebook profile photos to spread the word far and wide about campaign.
Greenpeace the environmental non-profit that used GPS technology to inform the public about their cause.

Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are business organization that extends ownership, management,
production, and sales activities into several or more countries. MNCs are boon to the economic growth and
development of the states.

GOOD EFFECTS BAD EFFECTS

Introduce technology Offer ill-suited technology
Encourage economic growth Retard economic growth
Encourage interdependently Cause dependency
Elites learn to regulate Elites become compradors
Promotes human rights Harms human rights
Protect the environment Hurt the environment
Economic actors Political actors
Promote a cosmopolitan world Damage national Culture

Checks out the big names of MNCs that are already exist in the Philippines:

 Google  HSBC
 Viber  Citibank
 Palo Alto Networks  Maersk
 Procter and Gamble  Hewlett Packard
 Thomson Reuters  Coca Cola Far East
 Accenture  Deutsche Bank

c. Cooperatives
Cooperatives are people-centers enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realize
their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations. Cooperatives are businesses governed on the
principle of one member, one vote. There are several common types of co-ops, including cooperatives owned and
operated by:
 The people working there (worker cooperatives);
 The people buying the co-op’s goods or services (consumer cooperatives)
 The people collaborating to process and market their products (producer cooperatives);
 Groups uniting to enhance their purchasing power (purchasing cooperatives)
Cooperatives play a critical role in building community wealth for several key reasons:

 They often provide quality goods and services to areas that have been shunned by traditional businesses
because they are deemed less profitable.
 They typically invest in local communities.
  Since most cooperative members are local residents, business profits remain and circulate in the
community.
 Cooperative membership builds social networks and strengthens social cohesion which are essential
elements of a strong, healthy communities by connecting diverse community residents.
 Purchasing cooperatives help small, local businesses remains competitive within markets dominated by
large, national retailers.
 Worker cooperatives create quality, empowering jobs for community members.

d. Trade Unions/Labor Unions

Trade Unions are organizations formed by workers from related fields that work for common interest of its
members. They help workers in issues like fairness of pay, good working environment, hours of work and
benefits. They represent a cluster of workers and provide a link between the management and workers.
The purpose of these unions is to look into the grievances of wagers and present a collective voice in front of
the management. It acts as the medium of communication between the workers and management. Among these
trade unions that exist in the Philippines are the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)
and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

Functions of Trade Unions:

 Advocating for fairness and equality for workers’ compensations
 Securing better working conditions for workers
 Trade Unions will organize strikes and demonstrations on behalf of worker demands
 Fight for social welfare for workers
 Promote and advocate for education and proper training for workers
 Advocate and fight the government for legislative protections of the workers
 Promote and advocate for organizational growth and stability
 Trade Unions acts as representatives of workers in national and international forums
 Involved in collective bargaining agreements and disputes with management to settle any conditions on
employment
 10.Advising management on correct personnel policies and procedures
 11.Involved in collective and personal collective grievances between management and workers.

e. Transnational Advocacy Groups

Transnational Advocacy Groups (TAGs) play an increasingly important role in international and regional
politics and have contributed to changing policies of multilateral organizations and states. They are particularly
visible in contentious areas as human rights, environmental issues, international peace, and women’s rights. They
have specific roles to partake that can be achieved through effective measures, case-specific methods, and
activities.
TAGs serve as international catalysts for change, aiming to achieve international changes towards policies
and practices. The very essence oF TAGS is the formation and development of their advocacies and campaigns
that represent causes, ideas, values, and beliefs.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty are active in the human rights field. Oxfam and Save children deal
with humanitarian issues. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth represent environmental concerns.

f. Development Agencies
Development Agencies have been established to develop the cooperation between the public sector,
private sector, and civil society. These are organizations with specific aims and goals. The common denominator
among these organizations is the term development. These agencies concentrate on the growth, progression, and
advancement of specific concerns, which can be infrastructure or social institutions.

Types of Development Agencies:

International Organization is an institution with membership drawn from two or more countries. Its
activities transcend national boundaries as it facilitates cooperation among its members in the performance of one
or more tasks. The international organization can be public or private. A public organization is an international
government organization (IGO) with states as its members. Prominent examples of IGOs are United Nations, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union (EU),
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and World Health Organization (WHO). A private organization
has a membership of individuals or groups and is an international nongovernment organization (INGO) that
 originate for reasons other than politics such as International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). INGOs may
lobby or work regularly with the government and IGOs.

Non-government Organization is a non-profit group that functions independently of any government.

It serves the social or political goals such as humanitarian and environmental causes. Most NGOs aim to promote
the practice of democracy among societies and social change through their initiatives and organizational methods.
Many NGOs have targeted their efforts toward population groups that tend to be underserved by governmental
programs, including women, the aged, physically and mentally disabled persons, the poor, and various social
groups that have been marginalized by virtue of race, religion, ethnicity, caste, and social class.

Interrelationship of Government and Non-state Institutions

Government rules society This reflects how powerful government institution can be. If nonstate institutions
interfere with the governing body, two possible things can happen:

 Integration among these two institutions may take place to achieve precise solution towards development
 Conflict and tension may also arise because one could exceed the other in terms of societal control and
influences (Penninx, 2013)