The Modern State

The Modern State

           

            The state has come to play a central role in politics. Since its invention after the French Revolution, it has been evolving and becoming more clear and defined, its role has become crucial. A state is different from a nation. A state is a political unit with sovereignty while a nation is a cultural, and linguistic grouping of people who feel that they belong together. The government is a key part of the state. It is equivalent to the actions of the state. The state has been the dominant form of political organizations for the last centuries but during the last decades its power has been reduced.

             In around 1800-1815 Napoleon invented the Modern State. He united the passion of the French Revolution to a well managed and functioning bureaucracy and army. People now fought not only for their personal interests but for their nation, France. Nationalism or a passionate identification with the state increased later with imperial powers and colonies along with the World War.

            There is a difference between the terms state, nation, and the nation-state. A nation is a large group of people who are bound together, and recognize a similarity among themselves, because of a common culture; in particular, a common language. While a state is a political unit that has ultimate sovereignty, ultimate responsibility for managing their own affairs. The correspondence between nation and state varies around the world. There are places were the nation is within the state, but in continents like Africa and Asia nations take up several countries, they are not within the boundaries of a single state. Therefore conflicts arise. This problem came about because when colonialists decided how they would divide their territory they ignored the locations of the different existent tribes. Modern states have adapted the idea of "nation" so much, especially to adhere the emotion of nationalism that goes along with it, that today they are referred to simply as nation-states.

            The state can be thought of in two ways: as everyone living in a given territory or the governing apparatus that makes and enforces rules. The actions of a state refer to the government. The legal right to make and enforce rules is a main component of the definition of state. The government is by definition a key part of the state.  It is a group of people who have the ultimate authority to act on behalf of the state.

            The state has come to be the dominant form of political organization over the last centuries but today it faces challenges from above and below. Above the state world leaders are groping for structures that would replace many functions of states and operate over a wider geographic area range than the state. Organizations like the European Union, the free trade agreement, and the international monetary fund suppress the power of the state up to a certain level. The environment and religion are also factors that limit the states power in some way, this is due to cross-state bodies and religious political organizations. From below the state faces problems with the explosive growing of ethnic and regional separatist movements. The capacity of states to exercise control over things within their boundaries is always shifting, affected greatly by changes in technology. Regulating the economy is one of the most important functions of states, but with the development of a large and fluid world economy, the states role in controlling the operations of its economy is reducing. The world's investors and capital markets probably dictate the state's economic development so strongly that the state's involvement in decision making regarding economic  policy is minimal.

            Ever since its invention the state has been a powerful entity. It controls a variety of sectors such as the economy and the government. It is important to note that a nation is different from a state. A state is a political unit with sovereignty while a nation is a cultural, and linguistic grouping of people who feel that they belong together. Over the last decades states have been facing several challenges that have reduced their power,  this is mainly due to globalization.

 

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