CONCEPT OF STATE & SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE

AIM

• To brief you about concept of state and different forms of governance

STATE

• A state is an organized community living under one government

• Societies are politically organized under a common law within a prescribe boundaries

• The state is a people organized for law within a definite territory

BASIC ELEMENTS OF STATE

STATE

People

Territory

Government

Sovereignty

PEOPLE

• Since state is a human institution so there can be no state without human beings

• There is no limit for the number of citizens in a state

• Their number should neither be too small to be self-sufficient nor too large to be well governed

• China is the largest state in respect of population and San Marino in Italy is the smallest

DEFINED TERRITORY

• A modern state cannot exist without territory

• Nomadic tribes and gypsies wandering from one place to another could not form a state

• No limit can be laid down on territory as in population

• The largest state in size is the former U.S.S.R whereas Vatican in Rome is the smallest

GOVERNMENT

• Government is an essential element of the state • Agency through which the will of the state is formulated,

expressed and realized• Duty of the government

• Protect the sovereignty and integrity of the state• Maintain law and order• Protect citizens from external aggression• Solve the dispute among citizen • Work for the all round development of the people

• Government is indispensable• Government may vary from state to state

SOVEREIGNTY

• Sovereignty means supremacy of the state • Most important element of the state • Sovereignty that differentiates the state from all other

social organization• State is supreme in internal and external matters • Sovereignty is of two types

• Internal sovereignty• External sovereignty

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STATE & GOVERNMENT

• State is a broader term which include four elements• Government is one function/element of state

GOVERNMENT

Executive

LegislatureJudiciary

TYPES OF STATEs

By Power

Structure

• Confederation• Federation• Unitary State• Empire

CONFEDERATION

• Permanent union of political units for common action• Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a

common constitution• Confederations tend to be established for dealing with

critical issues • Defense• Foreign affairs • Common currency

• The closest entity in the world to a confederation at this time is the European Union. Other examples are Belgium & Switzerland

FEDERATION

• Political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions

• Self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, are typically constitutionally entrenched

• Status can not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party, the states or the federal political body

UNITARY STATE

• A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit• Central government is supreme • Administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only

powers that their central government chooses to delegate

• The great majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government.

EMPIRE

• Multi-ethnic state or group • Established usually through coercion • Includes self-governing regions, but these will possess

autonomy only at the permission of the central government

TYPES OF STATEs

Power Source

Democracy

Monarchy

Oligarchy Authoritarian

Theocracy

Anarchy

DEMOCRACY

• A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives

• Supreme power is assigned to the people • Power exercised by people directly or indirectly through

a system of representation• By Abraham Lincoln

• Government of the people, by the people, for the people

DEMOCRACY

• Pure democracy• People decide policy

initiatives directly• Switzerland

Direct Democracy

• Indirect democracy• Elected officials

Representatives hold the power to select other officials of government

Representative Democracy

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Repr

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tativ

e D

emoc

racy

Semi Presidential System

Presidential System

Parliamentary System

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

• Presidential System• System of government where a head of government is

also head of state and leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. USA, Afghanistan, Brazil

• Semi Presidential System• The semi-presidential system is a system of

government in which a popularly elected fixed term president exists alongside a prime minister and Cabinet who are responsible to the legislature of a state. France, Sri Lanka

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

• Parliamentary System• Executive branch derives its democratic legitimacy

from legislature • Executive and legislative branches are thus

interconnected. • India, Pakistan• Types

• Unicameral• Bicameral

PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM

• Unicameral• Legislature which consists of one chamber or house• Finland, Hungry, Sri Lanka

• Bicameral• Legislature, which normally has two chambers or

houses• Pakistan, India, UK

MONARCHY

• Form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual

• Government by a single ruler• Types

• Absolute monarchy• Constitutional monarchy

MONARCHY

• Absolute monarchy• Form of government in which the ruler has absolute

power• An absolute monarch uses unrestricted political

power over the sovereign state and its people. • KSA, Vatican City, Brunei

• Constitutional monarchy• Form of democratic government in which a

nonpolitical monarch acts as head of state within the boundaries of a constitution

• UK, Australia

OLIGARCHY

• Form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people.

• These people could be distinguished by • Royalty• Wealth • Family ties • Education• Corporate • Military control.

• Controlled by a few prominent families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next

AUTHORITARIAN

• Form of government• Characterized by

• Absolute or blind obedience to authority as against individual freedom

• Related to the expectation of unquestioning obedience• The most important goal of authoritarian regimes is the

maintenance of power and the personal enrichment on cost of the country and its population.

THEOCRACY

• God is officially recognized as the civil Ruler and official policy

• Governed by officials regarded as divinely guided, or is pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religion or religious group

• From the perspective of the theocratic government, "God himself is recognized as the head" of the state

ANARCHY

• Society without a publicly enforced government• When used in this sense, it intended to imply political

disorder or lawlessness within a society

THANKS