Nature and Characteristics

of State
Theories of State. State in
Islam.

Natural institution (human nature).

-A means by which people meet
their needs.
-without state, there will be chaos
and disorder.

The State
Man is by nature a political being;
it is his nature to live in a polis
wherein alone he could attain his
highest moral nature. (Aristotle)
State existed not merely as a
political organization, but for the
purpose of seeking common good
and moral perfection.

Definitions of State
Marx state is the product of class
contradictions and class struggle and
is controlled by the economically
dominant class.
Weber the state is a human
community that successfully claims
the monopoly of the legitimate use of
physical violence in a given territory.

Definitions of State
Dahl the state is a collection of
individuals occupying role positions
(those of governing authority) and
acting as a group to govern.
Giddens a state is a political
organization whose rule is territorially
ordered and which is able to mobilize
the means of violence to sustain that
rule.

Elements of State
The state refers to an assemblage of
people occupying a definite territory
under an organized government and
subject to no outside control.
In reality, no state possesses all four
of these attributes.
However, these attributes are useful
starting point.

Element 1: Population
It is the people who make the state.
Population consists of two groups:
citizens and aliens.
Citizenship = legal membership.
Methods of acquiring citizenship: jus
soli and jus sanguinis.
Number of population? No limit.
State with largest population?

Element 2: Territory
There can be no state without a fixed
territory.
Territory includes not only land, but
also inland lakes and rivers.
International law extends states
sovereignty to legally defined parts of
oceans, air space and the
underground.
State with largest territory?

Element 3: Government
Government: the agency to enforce
certain rules of conduct and to
ensure obedience.
It is the medium where common
policies are determined, common
affairs are regulated and common
interests promoted.
Governments use coercive power to
ensure order, security and welfare.

Element 4: Sovereignty
Sovereignty refers to the fount of
authority in society.
De jure, (based on law ) not de facto.
(Based on practice)
Two types:

Internal sovereignty: right of state to make

laws to be applied within its boundaries.
External sovereignty: the recognition in
international law that a state has
jurisdiction over its territory.

Nation and State

Nation: from Latin, means born. Originally, it
signified the geographical origin of persons.
The word nation is generally used to
describe an ethnic, linguistic or cultural
community, or even a race.
Nation refers to a group of people bonded
by ties of blood relationships, a common
language and literature, a common tradition
and history.

Nation and State

State: a people organized for law
within a definite territory, exercising
both internal and external sovereignty.
While the state is a political unit with
responsibility for conducting its own
affairs, the nation is a people
psychologically bound together with a
common will to live together.

Nation-state
The term refers to a political
institution that combines the
concepts of nation with state.
It is a state inhabited by people
who identify themselves as a
nation because of shared culture,
history, language, ethnicity or
other factors.

Nation-state
Very few cases, and most of them
are in the West.
In Asia and Africa? Few? Why?

Mainly, legacy of colonialism.

Multi-culturalism and
Democracy
Multi-cultural states have lesser chances
of maintaining democracy and stability.
Multi-national states suffer from intense
political conflict because of the desire of
the nations to form their own states.
Multi-cultural states may also suffer
from legitimacy crisis, especially when
cultural groups gave loyalty only to their
groups, and not the state.

The Origin of the State

Several theories:
The theory of the divine origin.
The force theory.
The social contract theory.
Evolutionary theory.

The Divine Origin of State

1. State is created by God
2. Rulers are appointed by God, and
are accountable to Him.
3. Obedience to the Ruler is a
religious duty.
4. Disobedience is a sin, and would
invite punishment.

The Divine Origin of State

The ruler has spiritual and temporal
power.
The state is a theocracy, supported
by many religions including
Christianity.
In Christianity, this led to conflicts
between Church and State.
Is Islam a theocracy?

The Force Theory

Man is a social animal, and there is a
lust for power in him.

Force is an essential feature of the

state.
States were born out of force.
Force is used as the instrument to
maintain internal order and to secure
it from external aggression.

The Force Theory

Critique:
1. Although force is necessary to
maintain law and order, it is
definitely not the basis of the
state.
2. No state can survive for long,
except with the willing consent of
the people.

The Social Contract Theory

The theorists:

1. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

2. John Locke (1632-1704)
3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (17121788)

The Social Contract Theory

Features:
1. People originally lived in a state of
nature.
2. The state of nature was
unorganized.
3. To overcome this, people entered
into contract.
4. Civil society is established.

The Social Contract Theory

Thinkers

Conditions
of State of
Nature

Reasons
for Civil
Society

Type of Contract

Hobbes

Dirty, nasty,
brutish;
state of war

Lack of
Security

One contract:
Absolute
Monarchy

Locke

Good life,
people
obeyed laws
of nature

Men
wanted to
preserve
life and
property

Two contracts:
Conditional
surrender of
power to the
authority

Rousseau

Good life,
like heaven

Men
wanted
more
freedom

One contract:
General will

The Social Contract Theory

Critique:
1. No record in history that state ever
created by contract.
2. Impossible for people without
knowledge of the state to form a state.
3. Rights cannot exist without the state
and people cannot surrender the rights
which they did not possess.

Historical/Evolutionary
Theory
1.
2.
3.
4.

Human beings are by nature social animal.

State is a product of growth.
Family was the earliest form of society.
Families expanded into clans, tribes,
society. Religion became the basis for
social organization.
5. War and migration also played important
role.
6. Political consciousness was the most
important role that bound the state.

State in Islam
Dawlah.
Earlier, political order in Islam was
referred to as Khilafah or Imamah.
Question of state became more
relevant after the abolition of
Khilafah in 1924.
Islamic state? better replaced with
Islamic polity/political order.

State in Islam
Although the term polity or state
did not occur in the Quran, there
are various verses that refer to
political concepts.
Examples include: `ahd, amanah,
ita`ah, hukm, jihad.

Essential Principles of an
Islamic Polity/ State
1. Tawhid. The indivisible,
inalienable divinity of Allah.
2. `Adalah. Establishment of justice.
Freedom
Equality
3. Shura. Decisive participation of
the people governing themselves.

State in the West

The development of state began to
take shape with the Treaty of
Westphalia (1648), and the French
Revolution (1789).
Treaty of Westphaliashifting of
loyalties from the Church to the
fatherland.
French Revolutionnationalism.

State under Communism

Laws of social development:
1. Primitive-communal epoch.
2. Slave epoch.
3. Feudal epoch.
4. Capitalist epoch.
5. Socialist-communist epoch.
-socialists- state in transition to communism.
-communism-classless society
All Marxist-Leninist states affirmed the doctrine
of limited sovereignty.

States in the Muslim World

1.
2.
3.
4.

Almost all Muslim states were under

colonialism or indirect foreign influence.
After decolonization, Muslims were faced with
issues affecting national and religious
identities.
Other problems:
Border disputes caused by artificial boundaries.
Inaccurate statistics about population.
Ineffective government caused by tribalism and
other similar loyalty factors.
Economically and militarily dependent upon the
West.