State and other Institutions Part - 1
Contents
- Introduction
- The State
- State and the Government
- State and Society
- State and other Associations
Introduction
This article will provide an overview of the state and other political institutions. The institutions that are discussed here are both governmental (the executive, legislature, judiciary, and bureaucracy) and non-governmental (political parties, interest groups, and the media). The press is regarded as a component of the political system because of the distinctive role it plays in influencing the other political system components. There is also information about the place of the individual in society and in the democratic system.
The State
Political sociologists prefer the term "political system" to the traditional term "state" in order to include a number of sub-systems that are not strictly speaking a part of the state. In a political system analysis, it's crucial to acknowledge the state's supremacy because it is the only institution in society with the ability to impose coercion. In political science, the term "state" has a different meaning than it does in everyday speech. The word "state" is a general term that refers to a wide range of concepts. As a result, when discussing "state support," Uttar Pradesh is referred to as a state. Instead of the word "state," we are thinking of the word "government.". There is no universal definition of "state" that political scientists can agree on. So, we can provide a few definitions that encompass all the characteristics of the state.
Greek philosophers believed that the needs of humans as a political animal led to the creation of the state, which they saw as a natural and essential institution. Marxists believed that the state served as the ruling class's tool of exploitation. A group that legally upholds social order within a community is known as the state, according to sociologists. The state has also been conceptualized as a division of society into a government and subjects that asserts dominance over all other institutions within its designated physical boundaries. Some political scientists contend that the people arranged for law within a given territory make up the state.
An independent state is one that has a defined territory, is free from outside interference, and has a permanent population established for political purposes. If one were to combine all the generally accepted components of a state, one could define a state as a group of people who are more or less in number, permanently occupy a specific area of land, are free from outside interference, and have an organized government to which the vast majority of the populace submits.
From the above definitions certain essential properties of the state emerge, viz., (i) a population, (ii) a territory, (iii) a government and iv) sovereignty. We may briefly examine these attributes.
Population
The gregarious instinct and the political instinct of a person combine to form the state. The state continues to exist for the sake of a good life despite beginning with the most basic needs of life. People are the foundation of this state. No state is possible without people. But a state does not consist of a single family or a collection of families. A state should have a manageable population. States include China, which has a population of over 100 crores, and the Maldives, which has just over a lakh residents. States that have a large population have some political advantages over states that have a very small population.
Territory
According to some authors, a state's territory is not an essential characteristic. Nomadic people are said to have political agreements but must move from location to location in search of food. As a result, they are unable to maintain a fixed territory. The widely held belief, however, is that a state should have a fixed territory with discernible borders. There is currently no state that lacks a proper territory and a way to impose its authority over its citizens. Such a state is unable to maintain relations with other nations.
In addition, the state needs its own territory for another reason. All states need money, but it won't come. The land (including water) that is governed by the state provides the foundation for the economy. Only if the subjects are residents of a territory can the state impose authority over them. Territory is crucial because it designates the specific population that resides there. It thus sets physical boundaries. It is clear that without the assistance of the state in which they reside, the Indian government is unable to exercise any control over its citizens who are living outside of its borders. Therefore, territory is a requirement. There cannot be any minimum requirements for a state's land area, just as there cannot be any minimum requirements for population. States with an area of 12 point 4 million sq\. km include the Soviet Union. And there are tiny states with only a few hundred square kilometers in size, like the Maldives.
Sometimes the claim is made that democracy thrives better in small states than in large ones. Switzerland is used as an illustration, the birthplace of direct democracy. But with the rapid advancement of transportation and communication technologies, it has become possible to implement democratic forms of government that function effectively in larger states. However, states with large territories have an advantage over small states in that they can access vast natural resources that small states cannot, particularly as resources dwindle over time.
Government
The state and government use different common languages, as was already mentioned. Actually, the government serves to carry out the wishes of the state and is an agency of the state. A state cannot function without a government. In actuality, a state's ability to give people the tools they need for an orderly life is what justifies it in the first place. By means of a government, the state carries out this. Without a government, a state could not exist.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty refers to absolute power. The exclusive use of coercive power over all people and institutions on its territory is what makes a state distinctive. This state power cannot be contested. However, state territory is not the only place where sovereignty exists. The interactions with other independent states are also included. It is acknowledged by international law that no state has the authority to impose restrictions on another state. Indeed, the supreme quality of a state is its sovereignty, which is a point of agreement among all authors on the subject. The institution must possess all four of the aforementioned characteristics in order to be referred to as a state, as is clear from the discussion that has come before it. It no longer counts as a state if it omits any of them.
Several aspects of the state have been covered. We trust you have read and comprehended this section. By completing the exercises listed below, you can determine your understanding level.
State and the Government
The terms state and government are frequently used synonymously in everyday speech. However, they are in no way comparable. Government is possible even in the absence of a state, as in the so-called stateless societies. Family has traditionally come before state in history. But while a state can exist without a government, the opposite is true. As we've already seen, the government is a component of the state. It was developed to help the state reach its objective. Without government, a population would be a horde of disorganized, illogical anarchists without any means of organizing themselves into a cohesive whole. The state uses the government to carry out its will. It has sovereignty granted for this reason. Different types of government exist, including democratic and totalitarian ones. and may have various objectives, such as communism, socialism, capitalism, welfare ideology, etc.
The difference between the state and the government may now be summarised.
i) The state is an abstraction, but the government is a concrete element of the state.
ii) The state is a supreme body, but the government is an element of the state.
iii) The state is more or less permanent, whereas the government’s authority is derived and limited by the terms of the Constitution. Sovereignty is an attribute of the state and not of the government
i) The state is an abstraction, but the government is a concrete element of the state.
ii) The state is a supreme body, but the government is an element of the state.
iii) The state is more or less permanent, whereas the government’s authority is derived and limited by the terms of the Constitution. Sovereignty is an attribute of the state and not of the government
State and Society
The state is the organization that carries out the political function in society and, as such, is a subsystem of the society. Despite being functionally integrated with those functions, the political function is distinct from those carried out by other organizations in a society. Therefore, while the society is concerned with the tasks of obtaining food and meeting other economic needs, related needs for integration, security, and related political needs, the state is tasked with ensuring the smooth and continuous satisfaction of all these needs. The state uses its legal authority to impose coercion to accomplish this. Additionally, the state is able to ensure that every person, institution, association, and agency operating on its territory fulfills the duties assigned to them thanks to its coercive power. In addition, the government must safeguard its citizens from outside meddling. In the international arena, the state must also advance its interests. For this reason, the state has a special power known as sovereignty that the rest of society does not. In fact, it is this quality that sets the state apart from the rest of society and gives it the power to rule over its constituents. There is a chance that, as in many nations around the world (e.g., Canada), a state's territory and population will coincide with the territory and population of the society. g. British and French).
State and other Associations
There are other organizations that play significant roles for the state. However, many things that would improve the lives of the citizens would be withheld from them. Even though they are all significant in their own right, the state's absolute power allows it to monitor, control, and even dissolve them at will. Nevertheless, in some states, the associations have grown to be so powerful that they can restrain the state's arbitrary exercise of power. The state, according to these associations, is merely one of them. They are, however, prepared to give it the upper hand in hierarchy. Political pluralism is the term for this position. Among other nations, the U.S. K. and U. S. A. Pluralism now poses a formidable obstacle to the state's arbitrary use of power in democracies that have attained a certain level of maturity. Many states with oligarchic forms of government do not promote the growth of associations because of the threat posed by these associations, especially if they turn into interest groups. The state, however, is acknowledged to have the ultimate and coercive power that is the only one that can, in the end, allow the associations to function properly and resolve conflicts among them. This is true even among pluralists. In the era of multinational corporations, the need for the state's assistance in pursuing their international operations is felt more keenly.
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