CHAPTER 2

STATES & NATI

ONS

THE ORIGINS OF THE STATE

The modern state system begins with the Peace of Westphalia, 1648.

Westphalian System: The modern state system that many believe emerged out of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia: based on the sovereignty of states political self-determination

THE ORIGINS OF THE STATE

Feudalism dominated until the 1600s.Feudalism: A hierarchical system in which most

people owned little and were subservient to an aristocracy that controlled most of the land and political power.Peasants lived, worked, and died on estates operated by aristocrats.

Aristocrats answered to the monarchs – but ruled with little interference on their own estate

Monarchs could be removed by murder or by defeat in war, but otherwise they ruled by divine right.

PHILOSOPHICAL ORIGINS OF THE STATE

Thomas Hobbs (1588–1679) wrote The Leviathan.Hobbs suggested that society had to submit themselves to government with absolute power, or a “leviathan” that dominated society.

John Locke (1632–1704) Locke argued that people had “natural rights” to life, liberty, and property and that they entered into a social contract with government to protect these rights.

Social contract: The idea that individuals give up sovereignty to government in return for which government agrees to uphold the rule of law.

THE NATION STATENation: A community whose members identify with

each other as sharing a common terminal (or ultimate) political identity. Usually based on common territory, history, language, culture and often religion.

Typically people’s strongest political loyalties are attached to their NATION.

THE NATION STATETypes of Nations:Ethnic Nation: National identity based on

a sense of common ethnicity or culture.Theocratic Nation: National identity

based on a common commitment to a particular religion.

Civic Nation: A national identity based on a shared commitment to a form of government and a STATE.

Palestinian Ethnic Nation American Civic Nation

THE NATION STATENation State: The union of a national

identity with a sovereign state government

Nationalism: The belief that people with a common national identity (usually marked by a shared culture and history) have the right to form an independent state and to govern themselves free of external intervention.

CLICKER: 2 POINTSNationalism in Australia tends to be

focused on a common commitment to the political identity, to the Australian Constitution and its guarantees of liberty. We would define the concept of the Australian Nation as:

A. A civic nationB. A constitutional nationC. An ethnic nationD. A static nationE. A theocratic nation

THE NATION STATEThe Union of Nation and State: Nation State:• National identity and THE STATE have the same

boundaries• Creates coherent community / government

identity• Strengthens political cohesiveness• Enables more stable government

Most early States, and most powerful States in modern politics are Nation States.

RISE OF STATES

Economic Factors –Agricultural progress first … Then

Industrial Revolution: The shift away from manual labor Use of non-human energy Use of machines in production Leads to changes in economic

structures and political and social relations.

RISE OF STATES

Industrial Revolution: Increases Productivity Expands the scope of cooperation and

exchange Enables larger scale political

organization Strengthens the STATE

IDEAS ENHANCING STATES

Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (published in 1776) outlined the basic concepts of capitalism.

Capitalism: An economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit, and in which people sell their labor for wages and prices are set by supply and demand.

IDEAS ENHANCING STATES

Capitalism: Private Property &Private Sector Economic ChoiceSupply and DemandCompetition for ProfitCREATIVE DESTRUCTION

IDEAS ENHANCING STATES

Capitalism:Generates extraordinary productive capacity

strengthens STATES through a strong economy.Demands increasing access to resourcesDemands increasing access to markets

Capitalist or Bourgeois Class becomes wealthy and powerful

Working or Proletariat Class grows, but low wages and harsh working conditions

HISTORY OF STATES: IMPERIALISMFinite population and domestic market lead capitalist states to attempt expansion

By the 19th century, Britain had become the dominant imperial power, establishing a presence on every inhabited continent.Imperialism: The extension of power (political, economic, social, or even cultural) through territorial conquest, or through the imposition of ideas and values.

HISTORY OF STATES: IMPERIALISMWW I & WW II: Ended imperialism as the direct

occupation or control of territory.

WW II Effectively ended the multi-state balance of power that was the norm for relations among STATES.

Two Super Powers emerged with nuclear arsenals to establish a bipolar international order and a new context for STATES to work within.

THE COMMUNIST INTERLUDECommunism: a new governing ideology in some STATESKarl Marx (1818–1883): The most influential socialist and communist theorist

Marx (with Friedrich Engels [1820–1895]) proposed the theoretical foundation of socialism and communism, in The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital.

Among those influenced by Marxist philosophy was Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924).

*more on communism when we get to the chapters on communist states..

CLICKER: 2 POINTSThe primary author of The Communist Manifesto

was:A. Adolph HitlerB. Friedrich EngelsC. John LockeD. Karl MarxE. Vladimir Lenin

CLICKERThe term Proletariat refers to:A. Business ownersB. Farm workersC. Government leadersD. Industrial workersE. Intellectuals

CLICKER: 2 POINTSWhich of these played a primary role in

actually leading the revolution and formation of the government in Russia based on his interpretation of Communist ideas?

A. Adam SmithB. Friedrich EngelsC. Karl MarxD. Thomas HobbsE. Vladimir Lenin

THE COMMUNIST INTERLUDE

Cold war: A war of words and ideas between the Western and Soviet blocs between the late 1940s and early 1990s.

THE IMPACT OF COLONIALISMA colony is a settlement established in a territory by citizens of a foreign state.

Colonialism: The process by which citizens of one territory live in and control another territory, which answers to the home government.

THE IMPACT OF COLONIALISM (Cont’d)Newly independent states of Asia and Africa — collectively (along with Latin America) “the Third World”—were mixed.Weak governmentsUnderdeveloped economiesLittle sense of National identityMulti-national states in many cases

Islam is the second biggest religion in the world after Christianity.

“Islam” means submission to God (or Allah) and is based on taking the Quran (the book of revelations given by Allah to the prophet Muhammad) as the literal word of God.

Islamic law consists of codes of behavior that evolved over time out of the Quran and the hadith, the collected sayings and hearsay statements of Muhammad.

THE REVIVAL OF ISLAM

THE REVIVAL OF ISLAM

1979: Growing pressure and tensions led to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the creation of a theocratic system; its advent representing Islamic resurgence. Islamic resurgence: The rediscovery of Islamic values and practices throughout the Middle East and North Africa, representing a change in political, economic, and social direction.