WHAT IS STATE? GIVE ITS ELEMENTS.

Introduction
State is the most powerful and universal of all social institutions.
State refers to a political unit that exercises its sovereignty over a defined territory ‫ عالقہ‬and
its population.
In this definition a defined territory may include land, water, and airspace ‫فضائی حدود‬.
And the population may be defined by nationality, citizenship, or residency.
Origin/Meaning
In the past Greek used the word “Polis” which means “city-state“ and Roman used the word
“Civitas” which means “State”.
The term state has been derived from a Latin word “Status” which means social status of an
individual, a group, or a class.
Machiavelli, an Italian political thinker firstly used this term in his book “The Prince” published
in 1523 A.D. Machiavelli states that “All the powers which had authority over men are states
which are either monarchies or republics ‫جمہوریہ‬.
Definitions
Aristotle
“State is a union of families and villages, having for its end as a perfect and self-sufficient life
by which we mean a happy and honourable life.”
Plato
"The state is a body of people, living in a defined territory, and politically organised under
one government."
Max Weber
"A human community that successfully claims the monopoly ‫ اجارہ داری‬of the legitimate use of
physical force within a given territory."
Essential Elements of The State
The following are the essential or key elements of the State:
Population
1. Population is the most important element of the state as there can be no state
without population.
2. It refers to the people who inhabit ‫ آباد‬in the territory over which the state has
sovereignty.
3. State is an organism which grows with the population. Therefore there is no limit for
the number of people.
4. Modern states give preferences to big populations as the bigger the population the
greater will be its power.
5. The good quality of people also matters as Aristotle says :” A good citizen makes a
good state and a bad citizen makes a bad state.”
6. The population of the state need not belong to a single race, religion, language or
culture.
7. The relationship between the state and its population is often shaped by the state's
policies and institutions, including its laws, regulations, and social programs.
8. The population of a state can have a significant impact on its political system and
government. As in a democracy, the people are considered the source of political
power.
Territory
 1. Territory is an essential part of the state. It refers to a defined geographical area over
which the state exercises control and jurisdiction.
2. It provides a physical space within which the state can establish and exercise its
authority.
3. Nomadic tribes of gypsies ‫ خانہ بدوش‬wandering from one place to another could not
form a state.
4. Territory of state is not only to the land domain but also to rivers, lakes, sea and the
airspace over it in which it has its jurisdiction.
5. There is no clear acceptance of the size of an ideal state.E.g. Sanmario, Vatican City
etc. are small states , whereas Russia, China are large states .
6. The advantages of the small states having small territory is that they remain
compact and well governed but disadvantage is that they have less natural recourse.
7. It is not possible for a small state to maintain their existence e.g. Bhutan and China _
docklam issue.
8. Large states have more resources than small states for economic , defence and
social welfare.
9. The principle of territorial integrity holds that states should respect each other's
borders.
10. In short, territory symbolises the sphere of sovereignty of state.
Government
1. Government is the third essential part of the state and it is responsible for exercising
authority over the population.
2. According to Garner: Government is the agency or machinery through which
common policies are determined and by which common affairs are regulated and
common interests promoted.
3. Hence authority of state exercised, function of state prepared,laws of state are made
enforced by the government.
4. It is also responsible for defending the country's against external threats, as well as
managing relationships with other nations through foreign policy.
5. It is responsible for making decisions that affect the lives of citizens, such as taxation,
welfare policies, and social programs.
6. the government is divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The
executive branch is responsible for implementing laws and policies, the legislative
branch is responsible for making laws, and the judicial branch is responsible for
interpreting laws and resolving disputes.
7. The types of government varies from country to country: Democracy is popular in
Pakistan, India, America, England etc.
8. The dictatorship of communist parties is in Russia, China and North korea.
Sovereignty
1. The word sovereignty means supreme and final legal authority above and beyond
which no legal power exists.
2. It defines the state's authority over its people in its territory.
3. The father of modern sovereignty Jean Bodin has divided sovereignty into internal
and external.
4. Internal Sovereignty: It means the state is supreme over all its citizens and
associations and it exercises supreme authority over its domestic affairs without
interference from other actors.
5. External Sovereignty: It means that the state is free from foreign or outside control.
6. It allows the state to make decisions and enforce laws.
7. It establishes the state's legitimacy as a political entity‫وجود‬. and gives it the ability to
negotiate ‫ مذاکرات‬with other states.