state it is the political and administrative entity of a territory that is related to all the apparatus technical-normative framework and the set of political, legal and administrative institutions present in certain locality. In addition to the territory, where the State exercises its sovereignty, the population and the government, through which the State performs part of its functions, are also part of its composition. It is important to emphasize that this definition is up to the State, with a capital “E”. The state, with a small “e”, is an administrative unit belonging to a territory.
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State Summary
State is the administrative and regulatory (or legal) entity of a given territory.
The administration of the territory, serving the population, establishing international relations and ensuring territorial security are its functions.
It consists of three elements: territory, population and government.
Sovereignty is of fundamental importance for its maintenance.
There are different types of State, determined according to its internal order and functioning. They are: absolutist, liberal, social welfare, neoliberal, socialist.
It is important not to confuse state with state. When written with a lower case letter, the term refers to the administrative units into which a territory is divided.
The State also differs from nation (identity of a people), from government (political institution of the State) and from country (the physical base, the territory, the population and the government).
In the case of the nation-state, the nation becomes one of the elements that form the structure of the state, along with the territory and the government.
What is the definition of state?
The State is an important concept of Geography, found mainly in studies developed in the field of geopolitics and political geography and used to designate the entire political-administrative and normative body of a given territory. In this sense, the State represents all instances of public administration, institutions policies and the legal order, necessary for the management of a territory and the population that lives in it.
What are the functions of the state?
The State has two primary functions, which are the administration of the territory and meeting the needs and guarantees of its population. In the first case, territorial management is carried out through the institutionalized actions of the political body that is responsible for the State at that time, this body corresponds to a transitory organization represented by the government.
The way in which each State is administered varies according to the type of State and the legal order provided for by its Constitution. In the case of the Brazilian State, actions are divided into three powers: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary.
Another important function of the State is the representation of your territoryThe bilateral and multilateral entities and bodies, as well as the establishment of diplomatic relations with other states, since countries and nation-states are not isolated in the international geopolitical scenario. The State must also guarantee the maintenance of its internal power, which can be translated nthe exercise of its sovereignty, and the security of its territory.
See too: What is an autocracy?
What are the types of state?
The different forms of organization of the State throughout the history of existence of this entity can be translated into, at least, six types of states moderns, determined according to its structure and functioning. Next, find out what they are and how they are organized.
Absolute State: State functions are centralized in the hands of a single ruler, usually a monarch. To learn more about this concept, click here.
liberal state: the organization of the State takes place in such a way as to guarantee the basic rights of citizens, especially life, liberty and property, but with the least intervention in areas such as the economy. The emergence of the liberal state took place as opposition to the absolutist state.
Welfare state: also called social state, is characterized by state action in a larger number of areas, in order to ensure all citizens' rights and guarantee access to essential services, such as health and education. In this type of State, there is greater intervention by public agents in strategic sectors, such as the economy.
socialist state: is based on socialist ideals, who defend the fight against socioeconomic inequalities derived from the capitalist economic system and the creation of a more egalitarian and just society. The State is the main agent for guaranteeing these conditions, in addition to centralizing all economic decisions (planned economy).
state neoliberal: emerged as a reinterpretation of the liberal state, characterized by a drastic reduction in state participation in areas such as the economy, in addition to reducing State expenditures, especially when it comes to public.
Democratic state: the technical and normative apparatus of that State takes into account the fundamental rights of its citizens. It also relies on popular participation in decision-making. Brazil is an example of a democratic State based on the rule of law, as defined in the Federal Constitution of 1988. To learn more about this concept, click here.
What are the elements that make up the state?
there are three The elements that make up the state:
Territory: is the basis on which the State operates, and where he exercises his sovereignty. Sovereignty can be understood as the power that is conferred or legitimized to the State for its action. This sovereignty is exercised within the its border limits or against other States, in the sense of defending territorial integrity. To learn more about this element, click here.
Population: the population, or people, is one of the fundamental elements for the existence and maintenance of the State. The population lives in the territory administered by that entity state, while at the same time being responsible for its legitimacy. To learn more about this element, click here.
Government: is a political body formed by different political actors and responsible for the power and performance of the functions of the State in certain period. The government is therefore transitory. In democratic regimes, for example, the population elects a government to exercise power in the state for a period of four to five years generally. At the end of each period, new elections take place for the renewal of this political body.
What is the difference between state and state?
The terms State, spelled with a capital “E”, and state, spelled with a small “e”, are often used as synonyms. However, they do not carry the same meaning. Note the differences:
State: capitalized, the State refers to the entity that exercises its sovereignty over a given territory. As we saw earlier, the whole set of norms, laws and institutions that are fundamental for the organization and administration of a territory forms part of the State.
state: with a lowercase initial, the state refers to a unit of the administrative division of a territory. The state can be referred to asa unit of the federation, as in the case of Brazil, or as a province.
What is the difference between state and nation?
State: it is an entity that takes place over a territory. Within the limits of that territory, populations with very different ethnic origins and cultural aspects can coexist, who do not necessarily share the same identity or the feeling of belonging to the same social group, to the same nation.
Nation: it is related to sociocultural issues, with the idea of belonging and identity of a population. the nation is formed by individuals who have similar historical and ethnocultural roots, who share cultural elements, such as spoken language, religion and customs, which allow them to develop this feeling of belonging to the same people, to the same nation. To learn more about this concept, click here.
Several nations can coexist in the same territory and live under the same state. At the same time, there are many nations without a state. Palestine is recognized by many other countries as a State, but it does not have its own territory where it can exercise its sovereignty, and it fights to this day to make the State of Palestine official. The Kurdish people are another example of a stateless nation.
What is the difference between state and nation state
In the previous topic, we understood that more than one nation can exist within the territorial limits of a State, constituting what we call multinational states. A nation-state has the same characteristics of composition as any other type of state, presenting a territory over which it exercises its sovereignty and a government, which performs the function of a body administrative.
However, what makes the nation-state particular is the fact that exist in its population a sense of national identity, with common social and cultural elements that make it a nation. For this reason, Brazil is classified as a nation-state.
→ Video lesson on nation-state
What is the difference between state and government?
The concepts of State and government are intrinsically linked, considering that government is one of the elements fundamental of State. A government is understood as a political institution that operates in the general administration of a given territory or of the State itself.
Governments are made up of a set of members responsible for the elaboration of public policies, for the care of the country's budget, for the execution of legislation, for guaranteeing the rights of the population, among other attributions that allow for the cohesion and proper functioning of the State.
When we consider democratic systems, it is the population that chooses the members (the rulers) who will occupy the main positions of the governments, being their representatives. These members are not fixed, but periodically renewed, which is why we say that governments are transient.
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What is the relationship between state and country?
State and country are also related, but we cannot use these terms as equivalent. The concept of country understands, in addition to the presence of the population and the existence of a government, the territory with its delimited borders and all its physical characteristics: the climate, relief and vegetation that characterize and make that area particular.
Origin of the concept of State
The political organization of a territory and the exercise of sovereignty over it originated a long time ago and goes backm to the historical period known as Antiquityage. Since then, the way in which the State was structured has changed significantly according to the territory, giving rise to a series of different centers of power around the world. One of the main references of the State in this period comes from Ancient Greece., with the development of the Greek polis, and also of the civitas, which were organized throughout the extensive territory of the Roman Empire.
A modern representation of the state, however, was consolidated on the European continent only after the end of feudalism and the end of the Middle Ages. The absolutist State was the first form of territorial organization that emerged in this period. One of the main factors that led to the emergence of a new state structure, which began to oppose absolutism, was the profound economic transformation the world was going through, notably Europe, with a new economic system, which gained more and more momentum, the capitalism.
In that regard, the State emerged as an entity representing the population|1| and aimed to guarantee their fundamental rights, in addition to promoting the administration of the territory. Transformations in the structure of the State were observed over time, accompanying the economic and political situation in the world, the modernization of society and the aspirations of the political classes locations.
image credits
[1] Donatas Dabravolskas/ Shutterstock
[2] Eliyahu Yosef Parypa/ Shutterstock
[3] Wikimedia Commons
[4] rafapress/ Shutterstock
Note
|1| TOMAZI, Nelson Dacio. Sociology for high school: single volume. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2016. 5. ed.
Sources
ANTUNES, Marcelo Garcia. Space, power and nation: the constitution of the contemporary nation-state in the world and in Brazil. Geography in Acts (Online), Presidente Prudente, v. 3, no. 10, p. 05–31, 2019. Available in: https://revista.fct.unesp.br/index.php/geografiaematos/article/view/5893.
DE CASTRO, Susana. The origin of the modern state in Machiavelli and Hobbes. Sofia, Espírito Santo, Brazil, v. 6, no. 2, p. 13–22, 2017. Available in: https://periodicos.ufes.br/sofia/article/view/16673.
TOMAZI, Nelson Dacio. Sociology for high school: single volume. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2016. 5. ed.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography Teacher
