Chapter 2. The State
Chapter Overview
The introduction argues that the good society depends upon a society’s institutional
arrangements. The most powerful institution of all is the state. The good society is based on a set
of four defensible universal values: people should be able to meet their physical needs, be safe
from harm, have the ability to make educated choices about how they live, and have civil and
political rights to protect the conditions in which they might freely develop their capabilities.
States can promote conditions that develop people’s capabilities or impede them. The following
sections of the chapter discuss modernization theory, Marxist and realist theories of the origins of
the state, and how the state can be divided vertically between national and local levels of power
and horizontally among different branches of the state: legislative, executive, and judiciary.
The section on political institutions and power begins by defining institutions and then stresses
their importance for creating order and predictability in people’s lives. This order and
predictability requires the exercise of power. After defining power, the section distinguishes
between power and authority and ends with a discussion of three forms of power: cultural,
economic, and political.
The next section focuses on the state. It begins by defining the state and discussing the four
defining features of the state: organization, sovereignty, territoriality, and monopoly over the
means of violence. It ends by distinguishing between states and governments.
The chapter then turns to theoretical explanations of how and why states emerged, focusing on
modernization, Marxist, and realist theories. It concludes that the realist explanation is the most
complete because it incorporates elements of modernization and Marxist theory, as well as
incorporating the importance of the international environment, which is missing in
modernization and Marxist theories.
The next section examines major political institutions. It emphasizes that the choices countries
make about the vertical distribution of power between national and local political units and the
horizontal distribution of power among legislatures, executives, and judicial branches are shaped
by groups seeking to empower those parts of the state in which they have the most advantage.
This section also examines bureaucracies and militaries. One of the main themes of this section
is the growing power of the core executive and, within the core executive, the power of the chief
executive. Another main theme is the judicialization of politics in which political disputes are
settled in courtrooms rather than legislatures.
The final section evaluates the performance of strong and weak states according the standards of
the good society. After comparing and contrasting the characteristics of strong and weak states,
the authors use the Failed States Index to assess whether or not strong states are better than weak
states at promoting people’s capabilities and quality of life by looking at the rates of infant
mortality, literacy, and homicides, and the form of government. The data indicate that strong
states have lower infant mortality rates, higher literacy rates, and lower homicide rates than weak
states. In addition, the strongest states were the most democratic.
Learning Objectives
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Upon completion of this chapter, students will be able to do the following:
2.1 Analyze the relationship between states and societies.
2.2 Define power and illustrate the different cultural, economic, and political forms it takes.
2.3 Define the state.
2.4 Evaluate different perspectives that explain the rise of states.
2.5 Compare the different ways states are organized.
2.6 Evaluate the performance of strong and weak states according to the standards of the good
society.
Chapter Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. The good society depends upon a society’s institutional arrangements.
B. The most powerful institution of all is the state.
C. The good society is based on a set of defensible universal values. People:
1. should be able to meet their physical needs.
2. should be safe from harm.
3. should have the ability to make educated choices about how they live.
4. should have civil and political rights to protect the conditions in which they
might freely develop their capabilities.
5. Subnational or federal levels
F. This chapter also examines whether strong states contribute more to the good
society than weak ones.
6. Conclusion
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II. INSTITUTIONS AND POWER
A. The degree to which countries meet the standards of the good society depends on
their institutional arrangements.
B. Institutions create and embody written and unwritten rules that constrain
individuals’ behavior into patterned actions.
1. These rules make a social life together possible by giving it order and
predictability.
2. Institutions give meaning and structure to our relations with each other.
C. Institutions create order and predictability that make daily life tolerable by
exerting power to constrain people’s conduct.
1. Driving a car would be very dangerous if there were no traffic laws.
2. Investing institutions with power over our behavior is the price we pay to
enjoy the benefits of a social life together.
D. Institutions are “the ground of both our freedoms and unfreedoms.”
E. Institutions exert power, which is the ability to get people to do things that they
2. They create incentives for people to act in certain ways.
3. Rules grounded in power make civilization possible.
4. The quality of civilization depends upon what the rules are and how they are
enforced.
III. THE STATE
A. Political power trumps all other forms of power.
B. The institution that embodies political power is the state.
C. The state refers to a set of organizations imbued with sovereignty over a given
area through its control of the means of violence.
D. Four parts to definition of the state:
1. The state is an organization, a distinct administrative entity, in which the
people who are vested with political power are granted it by virtue of their
place within this organization.
2. The state has sovereignty, which refers to ultimate power over the population.
3. The state’s power extends over a specific territory with clear boundaries. It
exercises sovereign rule over this territory, whose integrity it protects against
encroachment.
4. The state enjoys a monopoly over the means of violence within its territory.
E. The government refers to the group of leaders in charge of directing the state.
F. States and governments are often treated as equivalent expressions, but they need
to be distinguished from each other.
1. The state is a set of organizations imbued with sovereignty over a given area.
2. The government refers to the people who run those organizations.
G. States vary considerably in their ability to govern.
1. Weak states find it difficult to govern, assert their authority, and implement
their decisions.
2. Strong states are able to govern effectively, assert their authority, and
implement their decisions.
IV. THE ORIGINS OF STATES
A. In 1500, less than 20 percent of the world’s land area was marked off by
boundaries of states.
B. Today, the entire world is organized into states with the exception of Antarctica.
C. Three different explanations of why and how states emerged:
1. Modernization theory
a. A theory that held that modernizing traditional countries would follow the
same developmental sequence as Western, more developed countries:
industrialization, urbanization, specialization, and democratization.
b. Perceives states as benign and stabilizing society when, in fact, states can
be malign and highly destabilizing.
c. Perceives the emergence of states occurring in a peaceful, rational fashion
when, in fact, the process of state building has been filled with bloody
turmoil.
2. Marxist theory
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a. Believe states emerge as a result of the efforts of a dominant class in
society using its monopoly over the means of violence to impose its rule
over subordinate classes.
b. The modern state is “the executive committee of the bourgeoisie”
reflecting the general interests of the ruling, capitalist class. It is not a
neutral mechanism.
c. The Marxist theory of the state too narrowly confines state-building to the
requirements of class conflict.
d. Marxist theory ignores other actors with other motives from the story.
3. Realist theory
a. State building proceeded under pressure from external and internal rivals.
b. States emerged in response to the demands of war in a lawless, threatening
international environment.
c. Threats from external rivals required the development of armies and
raising revenues to pay for armies.
d. Provisioning and maintaining armies is expensive, so states were required
to develop bureaucracies and administrative innovations to increase the
efficiency of tax collection and effectiveness of armed forces.
e. In summary, realists argue that states developed in response to the
extractive necessities of war.
D. Advantages of realist theory
1. Realist theory incorporates elements of both modernization and Marxist
theory.
2. It incorporates the coordination role states play, as does modernization theory.
3. It includes the role of interests in creating the state, but in contrast to Marxist
theory, the interests are those of the state rather than those of a ruling class.
4. Realist theory incorporates the importance of the international system in state-
building.
V. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
A. The distribution of power among the different levels and branches of the state is
the result of struggles among groups to empower the parts of a state that give
them the most advantage over other groups.
1. Levels and branches of the state rise and fall in power along with the groups
whose interests they represent.
2. The fact that different group interests are tied to different parts of the state
accounts for conflict between them.
3. Groups take an active interest in turf wars or jurisdictional conflicts within the
state when it positions them better to advance their interests.
B. Constitutions
1. Describe the powers and functions of the different parts of the state.
a. Are “power maps,” describing the internal distribution of power within a
state, how power is dispersed within it, and the distribution of power
between the state and citizens.
b. Describe the rights of citizens or the limits of government.
c. Define the state and its goals.
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2. The actual distribution of power often diverges from what is given in the
constitution.
a. Power depends on political factors as well as legal, formal, constitutional
arrangements.
b. Power is fluid and depends on circumstances.
3. Constitutional distribution of power only maps what is included within the
formal state.
a. Absent are other organizations outside the state that influence political
actors, such as political parties, the media, and interest groups.
C. Federal and Unitary Systems
1. Constitutions may divide power vertically between national and local levels.
a. In unitary systems, political power is concentrated at the national level;
subnational levels (e.g., regional and local governments) are primarily
administrative arms of the state and do not have the power to levy taxes,
spend money, or make their own policies; examples of unitary systems
include China, France, and Japan.
b. In federal systems, sovereignty is divided between national and
subnational levels of the state; subnational levels control their own
administrative agencies and can sometimes raise their own revenue and
make their own policies; examples of federal systems include the United
States, Canada, India, and Brazil.
2. Differences between federal and unitary systems
a. Unitary state forms are more common than federal systems.
b. Federal systems tend to be less redistributive, spending less on social
programs than unitary political systems.
c. Federalism leads competing local units to bid against each other, to reduce
taxes on the rich and spending on the poor to attract business investment.
d. Federalism also contributes to inequality by increasing the number of
points in the legislative process at which bills can be blocked.
3. Constitutions also divide power horizontally among the different branches of
the state: legislative, executive, and judiciary.
D. The Legislature
1. Legislatures are assemblies that approve of policies on behalf of a larger
political community that they represent.
2. Legislatures appear under different names in different countries.
a. Congress, as in the United States
b. Parliament, as in Britain
c. National Assembly, as in France
3. Regardless of their different titles, assemblies approve of policies on behalf of
a larger political community that they represent.
a. In authoritarian political systems, legislatures’ main function is simply to
transmit local concerns to those actually in charge.
b. In democracies, legislatures actually influence policy either by amending
or rejecting executive proposals or by substituting their own measures for
them; they also oversee the executive branch.
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4. Unicameral legislatures have only one chamber, while bicameral legislatures
have two chambers.
a. The bicameral structure of the United States Congress, with a House of
Representatives and a Senate, is atypical.
b. Where bicameralism occurs, each chamber is based on a different
principle of representation.
c. Bicameralism is more common in larger countries because the different
principles of representation in each chamber can reflect the diversity of
interests within them better, and in countries with federal systems.
d. A unicameral legislature is more efficient; there is no second chamber to
delay, veto, or amend bills that the first chamber has already passed.
e. A bicameral legislature can offer a broader basis of representation than one
chamber.
5. In practice, most legislatures respond to the agenda proposed by the chief
executive, rather than setting their own priorities.
6. The legislature’s subordination to the executive branch is attributed to:
a. the increasing significance of foreign policy.
b. growth in the scope of government activity and the size of the bureaucracy
to carry it out.
c. the rising power of the media to portray politics in terms of personality.
d. the emergence of organized political parties that can deliver disciplined
7. However, legislatures in democracies:
a. retain the capacity to influence, as opposed to determine.
b. ability to advise, rather than command.
c. facility to criticize but not to obstruct.
d. the competence to scrutinize rather than initiate.
8. Legislatures tend to be more powerful when they have a strong committee
9. Legislatures display more influence in some issue areas (e.g., domestic affairs
like social welfare policy, health care, and education) than in others (e.g.,
foreign affairs or economic policy).
E. The Executive
1. The executive branch is the part of government charged with executing the
laws passed by the legislature and implementing or carrying out policy.
2. The executive branch provides the government with leadership by setting the
agenda of government, creating priorities, and proposing bills.
3. There are three distinct parts of the executive branch: core executive,
bureaucracy, and the military.
4. The core executive
a. Includes all the significant policy-making and coordinating actors in the
executive branch, such as the president or prime minister, members of
their Cabinet, their personal advisors, and senior civil servants.
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b. The core executive is at the apex of the executive branch, resolving
disputes within it and setting priorities for it.
c. At the top of the core executive are its political leaders, the head of state
and the head of the government. The head of state represents the country,
while the head of government directs the executive branch. In the United
States, these two positions are unified into one person.
d. There has been an increasing centralization of power around the core
executive in recent decades, and more specifically a centralization of
power around the person of the chief executive.
F. The judiciary
1. A system of courts that interpret and apply the law.
2. The courts are supposed to be neutral and impartial.
3. Interpreting the law requires courts to exercise power, and this creates losers
and winners.
4. In practice, court jurisdictions, the manner in which judges are selected, and
the content of judicial decisions are political questions of the first order.
5. In authoritarian political systems, the powers of the judiciary are quite
limited; the rule of law in authoritarian states is compromised because the
judiciary lacks independence and is subordinate to the executive.
6. In democracies, the judiciary enjoys more autonomy, and the courts may
even exercise the power of judicial review, which empowers courts to nullify
and invalidate laws that they believe violate the constitution. It has the same
impact on policy as an executive veto and belies the claim that courts do not
influence policy.
7. The independence of the judiciary depends on how its members are selected,
how long they have tenure, and how difficult it is to remove them once they
are on the bench. For example,
a. United States: federal judges awarded lifetime tenure; with their jobs
secure, federal judges do not have to worry about shaping their decisions
to suit either the president who nominated them or subsequent office
holders.
b. Italy and Portugal: take the power of appointment and promotion of judges
out of the hands of voters, legislatures, and chief executives and giving it
predominantly to judges themselves; judges are insulated from political
pressure by having control over their own career paths.
c. France: appoint judges to nonrenewable terms.
d. Canada and South Africa: appointments follow recommendations by
special judicial selection commissions.
8. There has been a trend toward the “judicialization of politics” in which
political disputes are settled in courtrooms rather than legislatures.
a. Citizens are making increasing use of courts to “contest government
decisions or to assert and defend their rights.”
b. Judges are not only intervening more frequently in struggles for political
power, but they are more aggressively using the power of judicial review
to look over the shoulders of politicians and evaluate their decisions.
VI. WEAK STATES, STRONG STATES, AND THE GOOD SOCIETY
A. Weak states
1. lack both autonomy and capacity.
2. are captured by narrow interests and lack the capacity to govern.
3. are corrupt and cannot translate their power into policy.
B. Strong states
1. display both autonomy and capacity.
2. are not captured by social interests.
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3. have policy makers that are insulated from social groups, which permits them
to act independently.
4. exhibit capacity, the ability to implement demands throughout their territory.
5. can defend their borders, maintain order within them, collect taxes, and
execute policies with a minimum of slippage.
C. Are stronger states better, in the sense of promoting people’s capabilities, or does
the quality of life for citizens improve when states are weak?
1. Failed States Index used twelve indicators (e.g., demographic pressures;
poverty rates; quality of public services) to assess state strength and weakness.
Four categories of states were identified.
2. In the top category, 13 countries, including Finland, performed the best, and
were labeled “sustainable.”
3. In the second category, 48 states, including the United States and much of
Western Europe, were labeled “stable.”
4. The third category was the largest group of states, including China and India,
and were given a “warning” label because of the concern about the quality of
these states. The authors of this book broke the third category into two
categories.
a. “Moderate” states, including Bahrain and Azerbaijan
b. “Ominous” states, including Ecuador and Guinea Bissau
5. The fourth category of states was issued an “alert” because their continuing
viability was doubted or they had collapsed entirely. Somalia was at the top of
this list of 15 failed states.
D. Physical Well-Being
1. A good society is one that meets the physical needs of its citizens.
2. Physical well-being can be measured using infant mortality rates.
a. Infant mortality rates are highly correlated with state quality; from the
weakest to the strongest states, the average infant mortality rate improves.
b. Thus, strong states, which have the capacity to translate demands into
effective policies and are not captured by social interests but enjoy some
autonomy from them, are better able to meet the needs of their citizens
than weak states.
E. Informed Decision Making
1. Good societies also equip their citizens with skills to make informed decisions
regarding their lives.
2. Informed decision making can be measured using literacy rates.
3. Most countries that scored well on the Failed States Index had high literacy
rates, whereas those countries that were in danger of failing had lower ones.
F. Safety
1. A good society is also one in which people are safe from violence.
2. A disproportionate number of those countries listed as “on alert” for state
weakness (e.g., Somalia, the Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka) have
been wracked with civil conflict.
3. Those countries rated as stable or sustainable have experienced nothing
comparable. Their citizens have been safe from political violence.
4. Safety can be measured using homicide rates.
Copyright © 2016, 2012, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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