LESSON 2 The Meaning and Nature of the State

Lesson Title: Introduction to Political Science. Definition of Political Science, Government,

Nation and State.

References:
 Hector S. De Leon 2016, Philippine Politics and Governance with
Philippine Constitution. C.M. Recto, Manila: Rex Bookstore
 Florentino Ayson 2000, Fundamentals of Political Science. C.M. Recto,
Manila: Rex Bookstore

Lesson Objective:
At the end of the module, the learners will be able to:
1. Define the terms political science, government, nation and state;
2. Differentiate state from government, nation and state;
3. Compare and differentiate classifications of government.

CONCEPTS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT

Meaning of state.

A state is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite

portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render
obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.

The Philippines is a state.

Elements of state.

The modern state has four (4) essential elements. They are:

(1) People. – This refers to the inhabitants living within the state. Without people there can be
no functionaries to govern and no subjects to be governed. There is no requirement as to the
number of people that should compose a state. Ideally, it should be neither too small nor too large:
small enough to be well-governed and large enough to be self-sufficing.

Reputedly the smallest state in point of population is the Vatican. Its estimated 900 citizens,
mainly clerics and some Swiss guards, are ruled by Pope. 16 The island Republic of Nauru17 has
a total population of only about 9,000. China is the largest in point of population placed at
1,314,480,000 at the end of 2006 according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The Philippines is estimated to have a population of about 88,574,614 as of August 1, 2007, 18
composed mostly of Malays and Chinese;

(2) Territory. – It includes not only the fixed portion of land over which the jurisdiction of
the state extends (territorial domain), but also the rivers and lakes therein, a certain area of the sea
which abuts upon its coasts (fluvial and maritime domain), and the air space above the land and
the waters. (Aerial domain). Thus, the domain of the state may be described as terrestrial, fluvial,
maritime, and aerial.
The smallest state in point of territory is Vatican, located just outside the western boundary of
Rome with an area of only 0.17 square mile or 0.44 square kilometer. It would fit in Rizal Park in
Manila. It is the smallest independent nation in the world. The Republic of Nauru has an area of
about 8 square miles or 21 square kilometers. The former Soviet Union19 was the largest state in
point or territory with its total land area of about 8,599,610 square miles or 22,273,674 square
kilometers. Canada has an area of about 3,849,674 square miles or about 9,970,610 square
kilometers20 which covers a surface nearly as large as Europe.
The Philippines has a total land area of about 115,813 square miles or about 299,955 square
kilometers;

(3) Government. – It refers to the agency through which the will of the state is formulated,
expressed and carried out. The word is sometimes used to refer to the person or aggregate of those
persons in whose hands are placed for the time being the function of political control. This “body
of men” is usually spoken of as “administration”. The ordinary citizens of a country are a part of
the state., but are not part of the government; and
(4) Sovereignty. – The term may be defined as the supreme power of the state to command
and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction and corollarily, to have
freedom from foreign control. It has, therefore, two manifestations:

(a) Internal or the power of the state to rule within its territory; and

(b) External or the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection to
or control by other states. External sovereignty is often referred to as independence.

These internal and external aspects of sovereignty are not absolutely true in practice because of
the development of international relations and consequently, of international law.

Origin of states.

There are several theories concerning the origin of states, among which are:

(1) Divine right theory. – It holds that the state is of divine creation and the ruler is
ordained by God to govern the people. Reference has been made by advocates of this theory to the
laws which Moses received at Mount Sinai;

(2) Necessity or force theory. – It maintains that states must have been created through
force, by some great warriors who imposed their will upon the weak;

(3) Paternalistic theory. – It attributes the origin of states to the enlargement of the
family which remained under the authority of the father or mother. By natural stages, the family
grew into a clan, then developed into a tribe which broadened into a nation, and the nation became
a state; and

(4) Social contract theory. – It asserts that the early states must have been formed by
deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form a society and organize government
for their common good. This theory justifies the right of the people to revolt a gainst a bad ruler.
It is not known exactly which of the above theories is the correct one. History, however, has shown
that the elements of all the theories have played an important part in the formation and development
of states.
States distinguished from nation.

Nation should not also be confused with state as they are not the same.

(1) The state is a political concept, while nation is an ethnic concept. A nation is a group of
people bound together by certain characteristics such as common social origin, language, customs,
and traditions, and who believe that they are one and distinct from others. The term is more strictly
synonymous with “people”;

(2) A state is not subject to external control while nation may or may not be independent of
external control; and

(3) A single state may consist of one or more nations or peoples and conversely, a single nation
may be made up of several states. The United States is a melting pot of several nationalities. On
the other hand, the Arab nation is divided politically into several sovereign states. Among them
are: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and others. The Philippines is a state composed
of one nation.

(4) In common usage, however, the two terms are often used synonymously. The Constitution
uses them interchangeably.
State distinguished from government.

In common speech, they are usually regarded as identical. As ordinarily, the acts of the government
(within the limits of the delegation of powers) are the acts of the state, the former is meant when
the latter is mentioned, and vice versa.
The government is only the agency through which the states articulate its will. The former is the
agent, the latter is the principal. A state cannot exist without a government, but it is possible to
have a government without a state. Thus, we had various governments at different periods of our
history, from pre-Spanish times to the present. There was no Philippine state during those periods
when we were under foreign domination.
A government may change, its form may change, but the state, as long as its elements are present,
remains the same.

Purpose and necessity of government.

(1) Advancement of the public welfare. – Government exists and should continue to exist for
the benefit of the people governed. It is necessary for
(a) the protection of society and its members, the security of persons and property, the
administration of justice, the preservation of the state from external danger, dealings of the
state with foreign powers (constituent functions) and
(b) the advancement of the physical, economic, social, and cultural well-being of the
people. (Ministrant functions)

(2) Consequence of absence. – Government exists to do these things which by their very
nature, it is better equipped to administer for the public welfare than any private individual or
group of individuals. It is obvious that without an organized structure of government, anarchy and
disorder, and a general feeling of fear and insecurity will prevail in society, progress and
development will not be possible, and values taken for granted in a free modern society such as
truth, freedom, justice, equality, rule of law, and human dignity can never be enjoyed.
The need for government is so apparent that even the most primitive societies, history shows, had
some form of it.
Forms of government.

The principal forms are the following:

(1) As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers:

(a) Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person
without regard to the source of his election of the nature or duration of his tenure.

Monarchies are further classified into:

1) Absolute monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by divine right; and
2) Limited monarchy or one in which the ruler rules in accordance with a constitution;

(b) Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised by a few privileged class which is
known as an aristocracy or oligarchy; and

(c) Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by a majority of the people.

Democratic governments are further classified into:

1) Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of the state is formulated
or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting or primary
assembly rather through the medium of delegates or representatives chosen to act for them;
and
2) Indirect, representative, or republican democracy or one in which the will
of the state is formulated and expressed through the agency of a relatively small and select
body of persons chosen by the people to act as their representatives.

(2) As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:

(a) Unitary government or one in which the control of national and local affairs is
exercised by the central or national government; and
(b) Federal government or one in which the powers of government are divided between
two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other local affairs, each organ being supreme
within its own sphere. The United States is a federal government.
(3) As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government:

(a) Parliamentary government or one in which the state confers upon the legislature the
power to terminate the tenure of office of the real executive. Under this system, the Cabinet or
ministry is immediately and legally responsible to the legislature and immediately or politically
responsible to the electorate, while the titular or nominal executive – the Chief of State – occupies
a position of irresponsibility; and

(b) Presidential government or in one in which the state makes the executive
constitutionally independent of the legislature as regards his tenure and to a large extent as regards
his policies and acts, and furnishes him with sufficient powers to prevent the legislature from
trenching upon the sphere marked out by the constitution as executive independence and
prerogative.