State- this is a special political organization of society that extends its power over the entire territory of the country and its population, has a special administrative apparatus for this, issues orders binding on everyone and has sovereignty.
The term is commonly used in legal, political as well as social contexts. Currently, all the land on planet Earth, with the exception of Antarctica and the adjacent islands, is divided between approximately two hundred states.
Compared to the community, which is a simple (unorganized) society, the state contains social class(or classes) whose professional occupation (or which) is management common affairs(in a communal structure, each community member is involved in managing them).
In Russian there is often a confusion between the concept of “state” and those social classes that manage the general affairs of an organized society (for example: “in this state ...” and “the state insists on more intensive intervention in the economy ...”)
State definition:
Neither in science nor in international law there is a single and generally accepted definition of the concept of “state”.
Definition of a state in international law
As of 2005, there is no legal definition of a state recognized by all countries of the world. The largest international organization, the UN, does not have the power to determine whether something is a state. “Recognition of a new state or government is an act that only states and governments can commit or refuse to commit.
As a rule, it means a willingness to establish diplomatic relations. The United Nations is not a state or a government, and therefore has no power to recognize any state or government."
One of the few documents defining a “state” in international law is the Montevideo Convention, signed in 1933 by only a few American states.
Definition of the state in science
The textbook “General Theory of Law and State” offers the following definition of the state: “ special organization political power society, which has a special apparatus of coercion, expressing the will and interests of the ruling class or the entire people" (General Theory of Law and State: Textbook. Ed. Lazarev V.V., M. 1994, p. 23).
The explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Ozhegov and Shvedova gives two meanings: “1. The main political organization of society, which governs it and protects its economic and social structure.”
2. Country under administration political organization which protects its economic and social structure.”
Here are a few more definitions of the state:
“The state is a specialized and concentrated force for maintaining order. A state is an institution or a series of institutions whose main task (regardless of all other tasks) is to maintain order. The state exists where specialized law enforcement agencies, such as the police and the judiciary, have been separated from other spheres public life. They are the state” (Gellner E. 1991. Nations and nationalism / Translated from English - M.: Progress. P.28).
“The state is a special, fairly stable political unit, representing an organization of power and administration separated from the population and claiming the supreme right to govern (demand the implementation of actions) certain territory and population, regardless of the latter’s consent; having the strength and means to implement its claims” (Grinin L. E. 1997. Formations and civilizations: socio-political, ethnic and spiritual aspects of the sociology of history // Philosophy and Society. No. 5. P. 20).
“The state is an independent centralized socio-political organization for regulating social relations. It exists in a complex, stratified society, located in a certain territory and consisting of two main strata - the rulers and the ruled. The relationship between these layers is characterized by the political dominance of the former and the tax obligations of the latter. These relationships are legitimized by an ideology shared by at least part of society, which is based on the principle of reciprocity” (Claessen H. J. M. 1996. State // Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. Vol. IV. New York. P.1255).
“The state is a machine for the oppression of one class by another, a machine for keeping other subordinate classes in obedience to one class” (V.I. Lenin, Complete Works, 5th ed., vol. 39, p. 75).
“The state is the embodiment of law in society.”
The state is a concept that is used often, which almost everyone knows, starting from the very small age. From that age when the Tsar-Father rules his kingdom-state in fairy tales. But not everyone can tell you what it is.
There are many ways to answer the question of what a state is. Here are some of them:
- the state is an organization of political power designed to ensure the livelihoods of people in its specific territory, possessing a coercive authority and collecting taxes and fees to ensure its internal and external functions;
- a state is a force, authority, organization that forces a person to do something, and therefore, at its beginning, is unjust and wrong.
And there are still a huge number of variations, meanwhile giving a certain and completely different interpretation the question of what a state is. In jurisprudence, there are several characteristics that a state must have:
1. Any state must have a clearly defined and at least partially permanent territory.
This condition is sometimes cunningly circumvented by the owners of such organizations as
For example, they register their own apartment or even a website as the territory of their state (no one said that the territory should be real and not virtual).
2. Right. What is a state - something ordered, and like any organized group of people, the state must have rules, i.e. law, laws, judicial system, etc.
3. The coercive apparatus - that is, the police, riot police, FBI, the system of fines and the like.
4. Public power- important These are people professionally involved in management, drafting laws, collecting taxes and nothing else.
5. Taxes and fees for these social services, as well as public needs such as war, famine, crop failure or, say, restoration of monuments, preparation for the Olympics or road repairs.
6. Ideology is an optional item. Ideology in a state is a religion, philosophy or way of life. If there is no ideology, the state is called secular.
7. Social services- i.e. school, universities, hospitals, etc.
8. Sovereignty is the relationship of the state with other administrative units.
Scholars disagree not only on the definition of a state, but also on its origins. There are several theories regarding the form: theological (everything was created by God, the authors are Thomas Aquinas and the social contract (people cannot live without society, so they made a contract, the authors are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, D. Lork, G. Hobbes and some others), Marxist, racial (the state is the result of the racial superiority of some peoples over others, authors - Gubino, Nietzsche) and a number of others.
State as special shape political organization (i.e. power relations, centralized control) is the object of study, first of all, by political scientists and economists. Political scientists view the state as main center political power, economists - as one of the centers of economic power.
From a political science point of view, the state is an organized part of society, having a system of authorities and institutions of power, legal norms and economic relations, as well as sovereign territory. The presence of a territorial aspect when characterizing a state leads to the fact that the term “state” is often confused with the term “country”. It is more correct, however, to understand the state as set of institutions(rules) regulating the behavior of an individual in society, and at the same time organization, which is built on the principle of hierarchy and monitors the implementation of the most general rules.
From an economic point of view, the state is a special subject of economic life to which individuals transfer part of their rights in certain areas (control over the protection of property rights, the creation of information exchange channels, etc.). In all these areas, the state receives the right to legitimately (i.e., on the basis of laws formulated by society) enforce the execution of generally accepted rules, in general view enshrined in the constitution (the fundamental law of the country). Thus, according to economists, the state is, first of all, supreme protector of property rights. In addition to monitoring the implementation of rules by other economic entities (households and firms), the state itself can be involved in the production and distribution of economic goods.
Regarding the relationship between government and society since the 19th century. Among social scientists there are two main approaches to explaining what a state is. Representatives of one direction see in the state primarily instrument of violence one part of society over another. Their opponents emphasize, on the contrary, the role of the state as beneficial for all members of society control center.
The first point of view is popular among left-wing scientists. Thus, according to V.I. Lenin’s definition, “the state is a machine for the oppression of one class by another, a machine for keeping other subordinate classes in obedience to one class.”
The second point of view goes back to classical definition Max Weber, according to which the state is a system of relations of domination/subordination based on legitimate violence.
Proponents of this position explain why a state is needed in principle as follows. If all people were angels and had absolutely equal points of view on the same issue (similar preferences), then in this case the state in its current form would be superfluous. However, the desire different people for personal gain affects the interests of other people, and the conflict is not always resolved through negotiations between the parties. In this situation, to avoid conflicts, a third force is needed that can solve the problem based on certain rules. Otherwise, a “war of one against all” arises, which was spoken about back in the 17th century. English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Another aspect of the need for legitimate violence relates to the difficulty of agreeing on issues even in the good will of each party. Therefore, instead of a long search for a compromise that suits everyone, it is often more profitable for some external force, the state, to quickly make a decision, even if it does not suit everyone.
The inseparability of the state and violence leads to the fact that people are forced to look for a “golden mean” between anarchy without a state and its absolute power.
One of the extreme forms of organization human society- This society without state,anarchy. In anarchy, there are no institutions that limit people's activities, and everyone acts in accordance with their own considerations, regardless of the opinions of others. But such a situation is dangerous because state violence will be replaced by “fist law” - even worse violence.
The other extreme is absolute power of the state, a situation of total control on his part over all aspects of an individual’s life. In this case, at the head of society is a government represented by a group of people or one person, which has both all the power and all the information. This approach was laid down by Thomas Hobbes in his treatise Leviathan, which describes an all-knowing dictator, wisely ruler of the country in the interests of his subjects. Hobbes believed that there was only one way to overcome anarchic chaos: to conclude a constitutional contract (social contract), according to which the individual voluntarily surrenders his freedom to the power of an absolute ruler - the “monster” Leviathan.
It is obvious that in reality the limits of state intervention in the affairs of citizens lie between the extremes of anarchy and the Leviathan state.
Origin and evolution of the state
Social hierarchy associated with to varying degrees possession of power, most likely arose simultaneously with the emergence of man and society. However, the state as a form of political power appeared only a few thousand years ago.
The formation of the state is organically connected with the development of property relations, since both of these processes have common prerequisites. Only after the Neolithic revolution did it become possible to accumulate part of the social product necessary to support professional administrators and their assistants. At the same time, there is an increasing need to protect property rights to limited resources, which can only be effectively done by a certain power standing above individual households and tribes. Anthropologists identify the chiefdom as an intermediate stage between the relatively egalitarian primitive society and early states (Table 1). An example of such a proto-state could be the one created in South Africa beginning of the 19th century "Empire" of Chaka Zulu.
The first states known to historians arose in the 4th–3rd millennium BC. in Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and Ancient China. The peculiarities of the development of economic life in these regions (the need to build and maintain irrigation structures, carry out other public works) led to the rapid growth of the organizational function of the administrative apparatus and determined the high economic specialization of the eastern state. K. Marx wrote on this occasion that in the East the state had three “departments” - military, financial and public works. We are talking about three main types of activity of despotic monarchies typical of the ancient and medieval East - waging defensive and offensive wars, collecting taxes, organizing public works. It is then that the main attributes of any state appear: constant army necessary to protect property rights, and a collection system taxes(labor or products of labor) from subjects.
Despotism of the eastern type differed from the ancient states of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In ancient states there were various shapes government - not only the monarchy (Roman Empire), but also aristocratic (Sparta) and democratic (Athens) republics. Exactly at Ancient Greece The philosopher Plato first proposed a model of an ideal state - aristocratic communism. Plato and Aristotle laid the foundation for the analysis of real government systems, comparing different forms of government in various countries. Since in ancient societies there was no requirement to carry out public works, the state here concentrated on performing purely political functions (including organizing defense and waging wars), as well as on protecting property rights. It was these functions that became the main ones for all Western states until the 20th century.
Fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. led to the formation of many feudal monarchical states in Western Europe. The initial period of their formation was characterized by a situation of feudal fragmentation: royal power was weak, numerous semi-independent feudal lords waged wars with each other. In the process of centralization of state power in the 12th–13th centuries. An estate-representative monarchy began to take shape, in which each of the three estates expressed its interests through the bodies of estate representation (states general in France, parliament in England, etc.). Historically, the last form of feudal state was the absolute monarchy, which developed between the 15th and 17th centuries. as a result of the completion of the formation of centralized states. During the era of feudalism, there were also city-states with a republican form of government (Venice, Genoa, Florence, Hanseatic cities in Northern Europe, Novgorod in Russia, etc.), where power in city-states belonged to wealthy citizens (urban patricians).
The bourgeois state arose as a result of the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th–19th centuries. – constitutional monarchies in England and Holland, democratic republics in France and Italy. It was then that the foundations of modern democracies, based on the priority of individual interests over the interests of society, on the understanding that the state should serve the people, and not vice versa. This was largely served by the works of such scientists as T. Hobbes, D. Diderot, C. A. Helvetius, J. J. Rousseau, A. Smith, J. Locke, who formulated the concepts contract state like antitheses exploitative state. Many theoretical ideas of European thinkers found practical reflection in the constitutional foundations of the United States.
Until the middle of the 19th century. it was believed that the right to participate in government activities only adults have wealthy men. The expansion of ideas about democratic statehood led to the gradual elimination of property qualifications, discrimination by gender, age, nationality, etc. By the end of the 20th century. in all developed countries The state began to be formally considered to be of the whole people, that is, acting in the interests of the people, under the control of the people and with the participation of the people. In fact, in parallel with the expansion of the principles of democracy, there was the development of systems for lobbying the interests of elite groups and manipulating the behavior of voters through the media. Therefore, the right to participate in the activities of the state cannot always be actually realized. This raises serious concerns, since from the mid-19th century. the role of the state in the life of society has noticeably increased - it has become an active and permanent participant economic life society.
However, at the very end of the 20th century, under the influence of globalization, national states began to have rivals in the exercise of centralized leadership. Large transnational corporations and supranational organizations (UN, European Parliament, International Monetary Fund, etc.) are playing an increasingly important role in regulating political and economic processes. There is an opinion that in the 21st century. The national state as a form of political power will gradually “dissolve”, transferring its functions to local self-government and the “world government”. Thus, the forecast of the founders of Marxism about the withering away of the state will come true ( cm. GLOBALIZATION).
Functions of the state
The question of the functions of the state (i.e., what activities are its main ones) is one of the main ones. Purely political functions of the state - first of all, representation of the interests of the main social groups, protection national sovereignty- there is no doubt. The main problem is the question of the economic functions of the state: should it only create general “rules of the game” and monitor their observance (the state as a “sports referee”), or should it itself participate in economic life (the state as a “playing coach” )?
In the era of the birth of capitalism, the main thing was to limit state intervention in people's lives. So, in the 18th century. one of the founding fathers economic science Adam Smith identified the following items of government expenditure:
expenses for maintaining internal and outside world(defense and law enforcement);
expenses for public administration (supreme power, officials, etc.) and external relations;
legal costs;
expenses for education, both primary and higher, in accordance with the specific needs of society, as well as for retraining.
At the same time, Smith had a negative attitude towards direct government intervention in the economy (for example, in pricing). According to Smith, “to raise a state from the lowest stage of barbarity to the highest degree of prosperity, all that is needed is peace, light taxes, and toleration in government. The natural course of things will do the rest.”
This minimalist approach to the functions of the state, assigning it the role of a “night watchman,” was characteristic of the classical liberal approach. However, in the 20th century. this approach, which prevailed in the 19th century, began to be subject to strong criticism.
Modern liberals point out that there are a number of tasks important for the normal life of society that cannot be effectively solved within the framework of private relationships between individuals. Since the market is not able to solve these problems, these “market failures” (market failure - a term first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century by the English economist Arthur Pigou) must be compensated by the activities of the state.
Already from the end of the 19th century. states in developed countries began to participate more and more actively in economic life (John Hicks called this the “administrative revolution”), until in the 1930s–1950s systems of government regulation specific to different national economic models emerged.
Based on the list of market shortcomings, in a modern market economy there are four main functions of the state (Fig. 1).
1. Providing a legal framework that facilitates the effective functioning of a market economy. Thus, the state provides market agents with public goods (defense and security are especially important), regulates side effects (for example, prevents pollution environment), provides consumers and producers with information about the framework conditions for economic activity.
2. Stimulating economic growth through balanced and stable development of various sectors of the economy (structural policy), as well as through generally accessible information support. Solving this problem, the state develops programs for long-term economic development and mitigates the negative consequences economic cycles, pursues an active macroeconomic policy, modernizes production, provides free economic entities many types of valuable information.
3. Protection of competition – protection to the extent that it promotes economic efficiency. Government services develop the “rules of the game” in business (for example, antimonopoly regulation measures), monitor their implementation and punish their violation.
4. Social policy, which consists of the targeted redistribution of income and wealth by the state to ensure social justice. This area of government activity is the most controversial, since anti-poverty programs inevitably reduce people’s desire to take care of themselves. In the 1960s, the United States declared a course towards building " welfare states"(welfare state), allocating huge amounts of money to help the homeless, to solve unemployment problems, etc. Development course " social state“Many countries in Western Europe have also adopted it. The economic inefficiency of government social programs and the decline in incentives to work determined the reduction of these programs in the future. However, even today, social responsibility towards those who cannot independently provide themselves with the means of subsistence is one of the most important features modern state. Social scientists identify a number of models of “welfare states” - Anglo-Saxon (USA, UK), Rhineland (Germany, Austria), Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway), etc. These models differ, first of all, in the volume and forms of redistributive activity of the state.
The strengthening role of the state in the economic life of society is reflected, in particular, in the growing share government spending in gross domestic product leading countries (Table 2).
Liberal critics of excessive government regulation have managed to ensure that, along with “market failures,” they also recognize “failure government.” This means that the activities of the state also have inherent shortcomings - while solving some problems, state regulation gives rise to new, sometimes even more difficult ones.
Usually there are two “state failures”.
1) Loss of some resources. The state, while performing functions delegated by society, does not effectively use the resources accumulated through the taxation system. This is due to losses due to the ineffectiveness of the state apparatus and its bureaucratization and corruption. The lack of clear criteria for the effectiveness of government agencies leads to the fact that such criteria are standards developed by officials themselves, quantitative indicators leading to an increase in budget expenditures.
2) Using the collected resources in the interests of not the majority, but the minority of citizens. The activities of pressure groups (lobbyism) lead to the fact that many government decisions are made to protect the interests not of ordinary citizens, but of a few representatives of the top of society (usually big business). At the same time, control over government agencies may be limited, and officials who possess valuable information may not be interested in making it public.
So, although government regulation is a necessary element of a modern market economy, it is by no means a panacea. There are areas of the economy where the market is, in principle, ineffective (for example, organizing the protection of property rights), but there are also areas where government intervention is fundamentally contraindicated (for example, the sphere of consumer services). General requirement for government regulation in a modern market economy it is usually formulated as follows: the state should help improve the functioning of the market mechanism, but not replace it.
Typology of states
There are many criteria by which it is possible to typologize states that previously existed and exist today (Table 3). The most important of them is the principles of interaction between the state and the individual.
Depending on what underlies the relationship between the individual and society, good will or violence, a contractual state and an exploitative (rent-seeking) state are distinguished (Table 4).
Social scientists note the “paradox of subordination.” A citizen, on the one hand, participates in government (primarily through the election system). On the other hand, he himself must obey those rules that do not always suit him, since he either did not participate in their adoption, or his opinion was not taken into account. As a result, two dangers arise:
1) deception on the part of the state - it can go beyond the powers established by the social contract (constitution), and, taking advantage of the monopoly on the use of violence, relying on the appropriate apparatus, solve the problems of those in power, ignoring the needs of citizens;
2) deception on the part of the individual - failure to comply with laws and / or evasion of financing the activities of the state through non-payment of taxes.
In a contract state these potential hazards are holding back. When these trends develop, we see an exploitative state.
The contract state uses its right to violence only within the limits of the powers delegated to it by citizens and in their interests. Citizens view paying taxes not as a duty, but as an obligation.
The contract state arises under the following three prerequisites:
1) the presence of a constitution that sets the framework for the activities of the state, which clearly stipulates the rights and obligations of the individual and the state;
2) the existence of a mechanism for the participation of citizens in the activities of the state, thanks to which compliance and improvement of the norms of the constitution are ensured;
3) the presence of mechanisms of control and containment on the part of civil society institutions (independent trade unions, the press, political parties, local governments, etc.) and alternative to the state mechanisms for resolving conflicts and guarantors of fulfillment of obligations (international judicial and other bodies, opposition parties and etc.).
If these prerequisites are met, they often indicate the existence rule of law(this concept is synonymous with the concept of “contract state”). In the modern world, it presupposes the unconditional subordination of the state to the following principles:
– popular sovereignty;
– inviolability of human rights and freedoms on the part of the state;
– connection of the state with the constitutional system;
– the supremacy of the constitution in relation to all other laws;
- separation of powers;
– independence of the court;
– freedom of speech, conscience, press, meetings, rallies, processions;
– priority of the norms of international law over the norms of national law.
Unlike the contractual one, exploitative state there are usually no such limiting factors. The exploitative state uses the monopoly on violence to maximize wealth (income and power - all of which are often combined with the concept of "political rent") ruling group, often acting to the detriment of the interests of society as a whole. However, even within the framework of an exploitative state, stability, predictability and systematicity of taxes are a prerequisite for existence - then citizens / subjects can come to terms with this. The state in this case is like a “sedentary bandit”, who not only, on the basis of the “right of force,” collects taxes on its territory, but also protects citizens living on its territory from raids by nomads, from attacks by other states, etc.
The extreme type of exploitative state is considered totalitarian state- a system of violent political domination, which is characterized by the complete subjugation of society (economic, social, ideological, spiritual and even everyday life) the power of the ruling elite, organized into an integral military-bureaucratic apparatus, headed by a leader or leading group (party). The most famous totalitarian states are fascist Germany and the USSR of Stalin's times.
The exploitative type of state was typical for pre-industrial societies; in the modern era, the contract state is becoming the norm for developed countries. However, along with the development of an exploitative state into a contractual one, the reverse process is also possible (such as, for example, the formation of fascist states in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s).
By form of government There are two main types of states - republic(parliamentary or presidential) and monarchy(absolute or constitutional). IN modern era The most common are republican forms of government. The remaining constitutional monarchies (Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Japan, Nepal, etc.) most often de facto do not differ from republics, since monarchs perform purely representative functions, almost not participating in political life.
By the nature of internal connections and form government structure there are two main types government agencies – unitary and federal state.
A unitary state is a form of government in which the territory of the state is divided into unified administrative-territorial units (regions, districts, districts, departments, etc.). In a unitary state, unlike a federation, there is one constitution, one highest representative body of state power, one government, etc. This creates the organizational and legal prerequisites for the strong influence of the central government throughout the country. Examples of unitary states – royal Russia, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Brazil, etc.
The difference between a federal state and a unitary state lies in the presence of independent administrative-territorial units, which, as a rule, have their own budget, their own system of legislative and executive power and build relationships with federal center based on the division of powers and responsibilities. The federal structure of the state usually develops in those countries where different regions differ greatly from each other in terms of cultural traditions and level economic development. Russia is a federal state. The USA, Canada, Germany, India, and Mexico have the same device. An extreme type of federal state is confederation, suggesting even greater independence of the regions. The most famous is Switzerland.
Depending on the degree of influence of the church, they distinguish secular And clerical states. A secular state presupposes the separation of church and state, the delimitation of their spheres of activity. Clerical presupposes the active intervention of the church in “secular affairs” and the implementation of judicial activities. Currently, the clerical state exists in a number of Muslim countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia), where Sharia law prevails over secular laws. But even in some countries of European culture, customs are largely subordinated to church regulations. For example, in the United States it is customary to take an oath on the Bible, and in Israel, non-Jews are de facto denied access to public service.
Along with “pure” types of states, there are often intermediate ones that combine features different types. The ideal model in the modern world is a contract state, which is republican, federal and secular. However, it is unlikely that even one of the almost 200 states that exist today fully corresponds to this ideal.
Evgeniy Kapoguzov, Yuriy Latov
It is not so easy to answer the question of what a state is. Definition (short or extended) this concept has many options. Scientists in their works take completely different approaches to explaining this category, which plays one of the most important roles in public life.
In general, a brief definition of the concept of a state is the organization of a society that has common generalized interests, necessarily possessing a specifically designated territory, a management system and full sovereignty.
Where is the concept “state” used?
"State" as a term requiring statement is used in several contexts. Typically this is:
- the sphere of legal relations, where the state often acts as their independent object represented by state bodies;
- sphere political relations, in which the state is also a fundamental element that determines the vector of development of society both at the internal and external levels;
- the sphere of social relations, in which the state is also assigned a number of functions for social protection of the population.
Why is there no uniform definition of a state?
One way or another, what a state is (a short definition will not be able to contain the whole essence of this concept), even science cannot give an unambiguous answer.
There is no single explanation of the concept of “state” recognized in all scientific fields. International law also powerless in this matter.
The UN has no relation to the formulations proposed below, since only another state can recognize a particular state or its governing bodies. The UN is not a power. This is an international organization, one of the most influential and largest world communities, which does not have the appropriate package of powers to determine at the legal level what a state is. A brief concept that defines this category as the main political organization of society, exercising control, management, protection of economic and social structures, V general outline gives an idea that it is the state in the “state-society” chain that is the leading link. This definition was proposed in explanatory dictionary Shvedov and Ozhegova.
Definitions by different authors
To understand what brief definition corresponds to the concept of state, it is necessary to refer to additional literary sources. For example, the state is a special trained force for maintaining law and order. E. Gellner imagines the state as a series of institutions whose sole purpose is to prevent discord. The courts and police authorities, separated from the public mass of the population, are the very state.
As an example of the fact that the term has many meanings, we can recall one statement by L. Grinin about what a state is. The definition is brief, or rather its meaning is as follows: the state is a static unit of political relations, represented in power and administration separated from the people, which claims only supreme control. Moreover, according to the author, the population is controlled regardless of its desires and will, since the state will always have the forces to implement coercion.
It is impossible to miss the truly “winged” statements of Lenin V.I. - leader of the Soviet people at the beginning of the twentieth century. Its brief definition corresponds to the concept of the state, if we consider the latter from a more aggressive side. He believed that the state is a machine created for the purpose of oppressing the low class, helping upper class keep the rest of the population in obedience. Lenin often called the state an apparatus of violence.
Country and state: is there a difference?
Examples of interpretations of this concept, quite obviously, cannot lead to a single general definition. Perhaps, having understood some aspects of the origin of the state, its varieties and characteristics, it will be possible to find the very answer to the question.
Often “state” and “country” act as identically equal terms. Is it correct? Is there any difference and does it matter? Turning to the above formulations, we can emphasize the most basic thing and name what a state is. A brief definition confirms that this is a political system of power established in a specific populated area. Country is, rather, a geographical, cultural, historical, ethnographic concept.
First states
You should also pay attention to where governance came from and what a state is. It is almost impossible to find a brief definition on the history of the development of society. Scientists here also disagree, so no one can name common reasons for the emergence of such a mechanism as the state. Of course, the existence of several theories confirms the enormous work done by historians and legal scholars, but not one of the versions has yet been awarded the status of “true”.
One can say unequivocally and indisputably only about where the first states appeared. Iraq, Egypt, China, India - modern countries dating back to the period of the Ancient East, have the longest history of existence. Among the theories of the origin of these states, the leading positions are occupied by:
- Patriarchal theory;
The concept of the rule of law
However, bringing the essence of each of them together, we get an approximate definition of a state, according to which it can be considered a special type of political organization that controls, through coercion, everything in a designated territory. social processes. It is autonomous in its own functioning, and carries out management in a centralized manner with the help of established legal norms or a single ideology.
In jurisprudence you can often come across the concept of “rule of law”. A brief definition of such a term will be possible to formulate only after the internal content of the category is revealed.
Features of the rule of law
In the case when sovereign governance and all activities are regulated by legal norms and legal principles, the state can be called legal. In fact, it is compliance and unquestioning adherence to the principles of legality and the rule of law that are the main features of the rule of law.
This same concept can be considered not only from the side of state coercion or compliance with certain legal norms only to the subordinate party. The concept of a “rule of law state” can also be interpreted as a way of influencing the legitimate government, aimed at ensuring that the latter observes the same legal norms that are mandatory for strict compliance by the rest of the population.
In addition, in a rule-of-law state, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen stand above all else and are a priority value in all spheres of public legal relations.
Federal state: specifics
Particularly relevant is the consideration of such a concept as a federal state. A brief definition of this conceptual unit will help to accurately identify the main features and characteristics of such public education, distinguishing it from similar systems.
In two words, we can say that this is a rather complex political and administrative formation, consisting of individual territorial entities. Unlike a unitary state, where regions have sufficient powers and sometimes decentralized power, in the case of federations, administrative-territorial units are endowed with the broadest competence and autonomy in almost all matters of political, economic and social life of society.
Features of a federal state
The characteristic features of a federal state are:
- territorial division of the federation into separate administrative units;
- the right to adopt normative legal acts and its own constitution belongs to each federal subject;
- each administrative-territorial unit of the federation has its own government bodies;
- citizenship of permanent residents of the federation can be dual: all-Union and a specific federal subject;
- The parliament of a federal state is basically bicameral.
Russia is a secular state. The place of the church in the life of society
The Russian Constitution states that our state is secular. This means that the church is separated from government affairs, and none of the world's religions is established by the government as the main or compulsory obligatory one. At the same time, some aspects of religion and the legal status of churches in the territory of modern Russian state regulated by relevant legislation.
Today, using the example of Russia, we can take a closer look at what a secular state is. A short definition states that there cannot be any official, government-approved, obligatory or preferred religion on the territory of the country. However, it is worth noting that in recent years the church has noticeably strengthened its position in the state. The revived significance and significant role of religion in the life of the country is manifested in many ways. This includes the active construction and reconstruction of churches, and education of the population with the help of newspapers, radio waves and Internet resources. The presence of His Holiness the Patriarch of All Rus' at important events and public holidays next to state leaders is already a common occurrence.
One can also notice activity among the population in visiting churches and opening specialized religious secondary schools.
There are a lot of definitions of such a concept as “state”.
Scientists have spent many centuries forming the correct explanation, although there is still no single meaning.
The power is responsible for ensuring the people's welfare and preserving internal order.
- This is a public organization united common culture, language, customs and traditions. This society is located on a certain territory, has internal and external sovereignty, and a system of self-government.
- A political-social organization that exists to regulate relations between the population.
- The core of a social and political system that governs people's lives and regulates their relationships.
- A country together with its population living on its territory.
- A form of organization of a social system based on mechanisms of coercion and control. It establishes the order of legal relations and has sovereignty.
Signs of the state
Scientists identify several of the following signs:
Origin theories
There are several theories about the origin of powers, but none of them can be considered the only correct one. There are many reasons for the emergence of such an entity as a state. The countries of the Ancient East were the first to emerge - now these are the territories of modern Egypt, Iran, China and India.
Most famous theories:
- Theological - based on religion. This theory is based on the creation of a state by the will of God. The people believed that emperors - the rulers of countries - received their power directly by God's will.
- Patriarchal - it is based on the family. It is believed that the country is formed from the family, and the power of the government is based on the power of the head of the family - the father. Since people can only exist in a group, they strive to create a family. The growth of families led to the formation of the state. Just as the father is at the head of the entire family, so the patriarch rules his subjects.
- The theory of violence is associated with political and military factors. According to this doctrine, countries are formed not because of the socio-economic development of peoples, but because of wars. Conquest and enslavement of tribes, violence led to the creation of countries.
- Social contract theory - the state was founded by agreement between people. In this case, the population partially renounces its interests in favor of the country, which will ensure its rights with the help of power.
- Materialist theory - associated with the division of society into classes. After the appearance private property the population began to be divided into estates and classes, between which contradictions arose. The state arose as a force that controls the life of classes and resolves emerging conflicts.
- Racial theory states that countries were formed as a result of the division of people into groups based on race: language, skin color, traditions, customs. In recent years, this theory has been considered pseudoscientific and identified with racism.
- Organic - based on a comparison of the state with the organism. A country like any other Living being, is born, develops, ages and dies.
- Irrigation theory. It is based on the introduction of irrigation agriculture, which was used in areas with arid climates. In this regard, there is a need to organize the work of teams, which leads to the emergence of a ruling elite. The first states based on this theory were formed in the east.
Government functions
Any state carries out activities related to sovereign power.
Ancient countries performed several functions related to managing society and the economy, protecting the territory and their own borders from enemy attacks, protecting the ruling elite and suppressing the rebellion of subordinates. Modern sovereign territories perform much more features.
The main function of each country is to ensure comfortable and safe living for the population on its territory. Other functions of the state are divided into internal and external.
Domestic
- Political - ensures the implementation of tasks for the development of the population, political stability on the world map.
- Legal - power establishes legal norms and laws, with the help of which it regulates relations between the population, ensures the protection of the rights and freedoms of every citizen.
- Educational means ensuring equal access for the entire population to educational opportunities.
- Organizational - control of the activities of all subjects of political power, regulation of laws, streamlining of power within the country.
- Cultural - responsible for the spiritual development of the people, guarantees free access to the information space to satisfy the cultural needs of the population.
- Economic - creation and operation of credit and tax policies, coordination of economic processes, control of tax payments and material support citizens.
- Ecological - a function that provides the population with a healthy living environment, establishes the rules of use natural resources.
- Social - ensuring equality between different classes of the population, protecting those categories of people who themselves cannot guarantee a normal existence. This function is responsible for solidary relations within society.
External
- Function of beneficial cooperation - any state cooperates with other countries in economic, cultural, social and political spheres in such a way that the benefits are mutual.
- Ensuring national security - the government is responsible for the safety of the territory of the state, guarantees its safety and the safety of the lives of the population, maintains the required level military defense countries.
- Function of maintaining world order - each country participates in organization and development international relations, solving global world problems. States carry out activities that relate to reducing the number of military conflicts.
- Foreign policy function - diplomatic relations are developed between all countries, international agreements and treaties are concluded. Powers participate in world organizations.
In history, the state as a term is explained as a social organization that had infinite power over the population living within the boundaries of its territory. The state is responsible for ensuring the people's welfare and internal order.
What is characteristic of any state? In every country, power is divided into three branches: judicial, legislative and executive. The government is supreme over all organizations and citizens of the country; it is independent and independent among other powers. It is the power that represents the interests of its people in the world political map.
Brief description of the characteristics of state power:
- Sovereignty - the country has unlimited power over the population and organizations that operate within state borders.
- Coerciveness - within the country government has the power to force entities to comply with laws and regulations. If necessary, the activities of specialized bodies are applied in accordance with established legislation.
- Universality - this word means that the power of a power extends over its entire territory and acts on behalf of the people.
States are considered recognized if they are members of the United Nations or have the opportunity to become members. Today, in the table of all powers there are more than two hundred such countries.
The remaining territories cannot be recognized by states for the following reasons:
Power as political institution ensures a safe life for the population, and how organizational structure enters into relationships with other political entities. The composition of the power - social security systems for citizens, courts, army, local governments - are financed by the population of the country through taxation and are responsible for organizing the social life of the people.
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