The State & The Modern State

The State & The Modern State

• The state is a political community
• States have existed throughout human history
• Modern states are distinguished by universality and sovereignty
• Modern states also include a territory, a population and a government
• Sovereignty is the right to self-determination
• Sovereignty includes internal sovereignty, which is centralized authority with a monopoly on the use of force, and external sovereignty which is recognition

Why States

• States exist because of social contract theory (Hobbes, Locke, Kant)
• The functions of states include:
  • Defense
  • Facilitating collective action
  • Controlling violence and policing
  • Taxation
  • Maintaining the rule of law
  • Providing public goods
  • Administrative roles
  • Correcting for market failures

State Capacity & 'Failed' States

• State capacity is the ability of a state to achieve its functions
• Weak states have low capacity
• Failed states cannot perform their basic functions, as shown in the Fragile States Index
• Factors of state failure are linked to the effects of colonialism, conflict/war, political instability, economic underdevelopment, lawlessness, ethnic/cultural divides, etc.

The Birth of the 'Westphalian' State & The Inter-State System

• The 1648 Peace of Westphalia marked the end of the Thirty Years' War
• The Peace of Westphalia established the notion of state sovereignty
• The inter-state (international) system is institutions and patterns of relations between modern sovereign states

Colonialism & The Universal Imposition of the State

• Colonialism is where a state power assumes direct political and territorial control over another territory and society
• Modern European colonialism occurred between 1493 and 1914
• Characteristics of Colonialism:
  • Extractive
  • Autocratic
  • Coercive
  • Inequality
  • Imposition of European institutions, market systems, and ideologies
  • Politicization of identities

'Globalization'

• Globalization is the increasing economic, political and social integration throughout the world
• Globalization is a “complex, multidimensional force"
• Globalization is synonymous with time-space compression

Globalization in the Modern Era

• Modern globalization has the characteristics of:
  • Unprecedented speed of integration
  • Technological advances
  • Economic liberalization
  • Government policy
• ‘Uneven globalization’ refers to the unequal distribution of benefits and costs of globalization, particularly between the Global North and Global South

Globalization & Non-State Actors

• Global Civil Society is the realm of values, institutions, organizations, networks and individuals, independent from the state and the market, that operate internationally
  • Value-driven actors aim to influence the world
• International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are formal, organized manifestations of global civil society
• Transnational movements are less organized and are politically driven international movements
• Market based for-profit private sector actors are multinational corporations

The Globalization Debate

• Benefits of globalization:
  • Decreases sources of potential conflict through interdependence
  • Increases prospects for economic growth and democracy
  • Increases cross-cultural contacts
• Problems of globalization:
  • May hinder democracy and economic growth
  • Unequal distribution of benefits
  • Disempowers the working class

Nationalism

• A nation is a group of people who share a culture, history, a sense of community and a desire for self-government, which are nations are ideas
• Nationalism is the belief that the nation is the ultimate basis of political identity and is an ideology
• A nation-state the overlap of a pre-existing nation and a modern state

Nationalism: Trends

• Many believed that nationalism would come to an end in numerous eras
• The end of the Cold War saw a wave of nationalism
• More recently, nationalism has become more relevant in politics (Bieber, 2018)
• Covid-19 played a role in driving up nationalism

The Different Faces of Nationalism

• Positive dimensions of nationalism:
  • Offers a political community
  • Can promote democracy
  • Can discourage imperialism and promotes independence
  • Can promote economic growth
• Negative dimensions of nationalism:
  • Has catalyzed conflict
  • A source of differentiation
  • A source of parochialism, xenophobia, nativism and discrimination
  • Can promote imperialism