Transcript Nations, States, and Governments

Nations, States, and Governments
Chapter 3
Terms
• Nation: A sociopolitical unit defined by a
deeply shared fundamental identification
among a set of people. It is usually bases on
elements as shared ethnicity, language,
descent, culture, religion, or geographic
space. Individuals identify very strongly
with their ‘nation’.
• State: A territorially bound sovereign entity;
aka a country
Requirements for a State
• A State must possess:
–
–
–
–
A permanent population
A defined territory
A Government
A capacity to enter into relations with other
States
Requirements for a State
• Permanent Population
– Some, not all, must be permanent
– Size not important
– States decide who is a citizen
• But must be a true relationship
• Jus cogens
Requirements for a State
• Territory
– Control
– Exclusive legally and factually
– Defined [?]
• “consistently controls a sufficiently identifiable core
of territory”
Requirements for a State
Requirements for a State
• Government
– Effective Control
• Establish and maintain order
–
–
–
–
De facto vs de jure
War occupation
Civil war
Free from interference [?]
• Any type of government is fine
– Legality of State not important
Requirements for a State
• A capacity to enter into relations
– Not required by all
– An indicator of independence from ‘other’
control
Requirements for a State
• Other Requirements???
– Self-determination
• Really???
– Recognition by others
• Evidence or proof of requirements??
• More important if one or more of first three
elements are weak
Nation Building
• Identity: People think of themselves as
citizens of the nation first and foremost
• Legitimacy: Government has respect and
willing obedience of its citizens and thought
to be lawful rulers
• Penetration: All areas of defined territory
obey the government
Nation Building
• Participation: Best way is through slow and
incremental steps
• Distribution: “who gets what, when”
Classification of Governments
• Supervision of Economy/Redistribution of
wealth
High
Statis
Socialists
Laissez-Faire
Welfare State
State
Owner
ship
Low
Welfare Benefits
High
Aristotle’s Six Forms
Who Makes Public Policy???
• Who decides public policy?
– Pluralist society: competition, bargaining, and
compromise by many diverse groups to make
policy decisions
– Elite: a few like-minded people make policy
decisions based on own beliefs and goals
Who Makes Public Policy???
• Agenda setting
– Deciding what will be decided: defining
problems of society and suggesting solutions
– Deciding what will NOT be decided: losing or
ignoring a problem
• Create an issue, calling attention to it,
pressuring the government to do something
about
Who Makes Public Policy???
• Non-selection for the agenda
– Elites act directly to exclude an issue from the
political arena
– Subordinates anticipate the negative reaction of
elites and ignore proposals or suggestions
– The underlying values of society or its
institutional structure prevent serious
consideration of a new program or policy
Who Makes Public Policy???
• Symbolic Policy does nothing in a material
way for the group supporting it.
• Most are gut issues and are of true little
importance in the life of those pushing it.