Chapter 6 : Concept of the State

Concept of the State

Nature and Significance of the State

The concept of the state has historically been the central theme of traditional political theory. R.G. Gettel (Political Science; 1949) defined political science as "the science of the state", and J.W. Garner (Political Science and Government; 1928) claimed that "political science begins and ends with the state". However, in modern political theory, its significance has fluctuated.

Some exponents of the behavioural approach suggested abandoning the concept of the state entirely because:

• The term refers to a formal concept, whereas real politics transcends formal organization.
• It is usually conceived in terms of moral "ends", removing it from the real world of politics.
• It postulates a specific organization that excludes "pre-state" and "stateless" societies, wrongly assuming political organization is not universal.

David Easton (The Political System—An Inquiry into the State of Political Science; 1953) highlighted the concept's ambiguities—viewed variously as a moral spirit, an instrument of class exploitation, an aspect of society, a synonym for government, or a unique association. He concluded that the word 'state' "ought to be abandoned entirely".

This distaste was largely confined to liberal, especially American, political scientists.

• Marxist political theory continued using the term to denote specific forms of organization (e.g., slave-owning state, feudal state, capitalist state, socialist/communist state).
• Empirically-oriented liberals used "state-building" regarding developing societies.
• In the 1980s, attention swung back to the state, exemplified by T. Skocpol's essay 'Bringing the State Back In' (in Bringing the State Back In: Strategies of Analysis in Current Research, ed. P. Evans, D. Rueschemeyer, T. Skocpol; 1985). The state was redefined as an active agent shaping and reshaping society.

Meaning of the State

While political organizations (like Greek city-states and the Roman empire) existed in antiquity, the contemporary concept of the state is comparatively modern.

• Machiavelli ( 1469–1527 ): Originated the contemporary concept in the early sixteenth century, defining it as "the power which has authority over men" ( Prince ; 1513 ). This shifted focus to the nature of the state rather than its moral…