The State and Theories on its Origin

• Political globalization intensifies and expands political interrelations across the globe.
• The global interstate system is pertinent amid globalization.

Meaning of State

• A state is a community with a permanent population occupying a defined territory.
• It is independent, possesses an organized government and its inhabitants habitually obey it.

Theories on the Origin of the State

• Divine Theory posits that God created the state and chose its rulers.
• Natural Theory suggests humans naturally form societies to achieve a good life.
• Force Theory: States originate through conquest and coercion.
• Social Contract Theory: States arise from a social contract where individuals consent to be governed.

Elements of State

• People: The inhabitants or population.
• Territory: A well-defined geographic area.
• Government: Institutions managing the state's affairs and enforcing laws.
• Sovereignty: Supreme authority within the territory.

Domains of Territory

• Terrestrial: Land, including mountains and plains.
• Fluvial: Internal waters such as rivers (e.g., Sampaloc Lake).
• Maritime: Large bodies of water (e.g., West Philippine Sea).
• Aerial: The airspace above the territory.

Government Branches

• Executive Branch: Enforces laws (e.g., the President).
• Legislative Branch: (Congress) makes laws (e.g., Senate, House of Representatives).
• Judicial Branch: Interprets/alters laws.
• Repeal: To abolish a law.

Sovereignty

• Internal control, external independence from other nations.
• The people hold sovereignty

Dimensions of Sovereignty

• Includes holder, internal/external dimensions, and absoluteness/non-absoluteness.
• Sovereignty allows countries to control internal affairs without external interference

Nation

• A group sharing culture, history, ethnicity (e.g., Jewish or Arab nations).
• A collective identity rooted in shared history and culture.
• The Philippines shares a collective notion of democracy, history, and identity as a nation.

State vs. Nation

• State: A political concept.
• Nation: A cultural concept.
• States, through their institutions, reflect nations.
• Some nations may not have a state (e.g., Palestinians, Kurds).

Nation-State

• A territorially bounded sovereign entity governing people with shared history, identity, and culture.
• The population is relatively homogenous, belonging to one nation.

Multi-Nation State

• States that contain multiple nations.
• Nationalism made state formation possible through nationalist movements.

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

• Centripetal Forces: Bind a state together (e.g., nationalism, economic prosperity).
• Centrifugal Forces: Break up a state (e.g., wars, corrupt governments, market failure).

Attributes of Today's Global System

• Independent countries govern themselves.
• Countries interact through diplomacy.
• International organizations facilitate interactions.
• International organizations take on lives of their own.

Global Interstate System

• An organization governing international relations.

Rise of the Modern State

• Originated in Europe after the Thirty Years War.
• Treaty of Westphalia (1648) initiated a new European political order.
• Modern state is based on Westphalian Sovereignty Principles.

Westphalian Sovereignty Principles

• State sovereignty: Control over territory and domestic affairs.
• Non-interference: States should not meddle in other states' affairs.
• Legal equality: Every state is equal in international law.

Principle of Sovereignty

• Supreme authority: Countries control affairs within their borders.
• Non-interference: Countries cannot interfere in other countries affairs.
• Territorial sovereignty: States have supremacy under international law.
• Duty to not infringe on other states' independence or sovereignty.