MEANING OF A STATE
A state is a community of persons
more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory,
independent of external control, and possessing an organized government to
which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience. According to Max
Weber, a state can be seen as a human community that claims the monopoly of
legitimate use of the physical force within a giving territory this is done to
distinguish it from other definition. The state is therefore is seen as a form
of association with spherical characteristics, and is charged with the
responsibility of maintaining those condition of life for which the state came
into existence. States vary in shapes
and sizes, cultures, forms of government, natural resources, language, etc.
However, all states possess four elements: a) people, b) territory, c)
government, and d) sovereignty. The absence of any of these elements will not
make a state a state.
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POPULATION: People are the
inhabitants of the state. It is the entire body of citizens of the state who
are vested with political power for political purposes. There is no specific
number of people required in order for a state to be considered as one.
However, it is important that the number must be numerous enough to be
self-sufficient and to defend themselves and small enough to be administered.
To date, the smallest state in terms of population is Vatican City with 826
citizens, who are mostly clerics and some Swiss guards. On the other hand,
China is the largest state with 1.3 billion populations. The Philippines is
also fast growing state with 97,976,603 populations.
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TERRITORY: Territory is a fixed area or
surface of the earth where the inhabitants of a state live and where they
maintain a government of their own. There are three components of territory: a)
the land mass otherwise known as the terrestrial domain, b) the internal and
external waters, which make up the maritime and fluvial domain; and c) the air
space above the land and waters, which is called the aerial domain. For the
sake of practicality, a territory must neither be too big as to be difficult to
administer and defend nor too small as to be unable to provide for the needs of
the population. The smallest state is Vatican City. It spreads across 0.17
square miles or .43 square kilometer. It would actually fit in Rizal Park in
Manila. The biggest state is Russia with its total land area of 6,592.735
square miles.
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GOVERNMENT: Government is the
institution or aggregate of institutions by which an independent society makes
and carries out those rules of action which are necessary to enable men to live
in a social state, or which are imposed upon the people forming that society by
those who possess the power or authority of prescribing them. (Bernas, 2007).
Simply, it refers to the agency through which the will of the state is
formulated, expressed and implemented. Government is different from
administration although these two terms are often used interchangeably.
Government refers to the institution while administration is the body of men
running the government.
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SOVEREGNTY: Sovereignty is
referred to as the supreme, absolute and uncontrollable power by which any
state is governed. It has two manifestations: a) internal, which is the power
of the State to rule within its territory; and b) external, which is the
freedom of the State to carry out its activities without subjection to or
control by other States. This is often called as independence.
MEANING OF
GOVERNMENT
Government is a group of people that governs a community or unit. It
sets and administers public policy and exercises executive, political and
sovereign power through customs, institutions, and laws within a state. It is
also an organization exerting centralized control over a community. Government
has to do with the act of governing, the exercise of authority, the
administration of laws and the direction and the direction of the affairs of a
state. Government is organised into various structures and developed
institution through which it operates.
Quoting from prof. J. Isawa Elaigiwu
and Habu Galadima in their work “system of government (1994:1)” defined
government as the institution that has been entrusted with the responsibility
of making rules and regulation for peace and order in the state, and also
enforcing them, providing security and welfare and managing the day to day
affairs of the country on behalf of the state. They went further to say that
for any government to function properly like a human system they must have
branches. These are the legislature (which make the laws), the executive (which
enforces the laws) and the judiciary (which interprets the laws and
adjudicates). According to him
government is that agency of the ruling class which is charge with the
responsibility of exercising state power on behalf of the ruling class. In the
course of its existence and the exercise of its functions, the government is
organized into certain structures and develops various institutions through
which its members operate. The existence of these institutions implies that
government also develops rules, expectation, values and ethics on the basis of
which it carries out its function or activities.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN STATE AND GOVERNMENT
Government is one
element of the state. It is the agency through which laws are made, enforced
and those who violate laws (law offenders) are punished. It is the visible
manifestation of state authority. It consists of all the persons, institutions
and agencies through which the will of the state is expressed and carried out.
A state is an organized political community occupying a certain territory. A
government on the contrary is an organization that has the power to make and
enforce laws for a definite territory. The word ‘govern’ has the meaning of
‘power to administrate’. Though the state speaks through the government, it is
proper to differentiate between the two.
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The state has authority inherent in itself
whereas the government has no inherent powers. The government gets its
structure, authority and power from the Constitution of the State.
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The state is a larger entity that includes all
the citizens while government is relatively a smaller unit that includes only
those who are employed to perform its functions. We are all citizens of the
state, but we are all not functionaries of the government. John Garner a
onetime vice president of the United State writes that “government is an
essential organ or agency of the state but it’s no more than a state itself
than the board of directors of a corporation is itself to the corporation.”
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The idea of state is quite abstract. The
government is the concretization of the idea of the state. We see the
government, not the state.
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The state is a near permanent institution; this
because the state does not die unless it is attacked and made a part of the
other state. The government is temporary; it is so because it may change
today’s rulers may not be tomorrow’s rulers. To put it the other way, the state
may be the same everywhere whereas; the government may vary from one state to another.
India, the United States, Nigeria, Great Britain and France for example, are
all states. But the governments which work in these states may not be of the
same type. In India and Great Britain there is a parliamentary government,
whereas in the Nigeria, United States of America there is presidential
government.
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The sovereign powers lay with the state; it is
the state that is sovereign. The government only exercises its power. The
government’s powers are delegated and derivative; the state’s powers are real
and origin.
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The opposition to the state is different from the
opposition of the government. We criticize the government but we can never
condemn the state. The criticism of the state is a revolt but the criticism of
the government is not a rebellion. We would never hear from an Indian that
India is bad; but we usually hear that the policies of the Indian Government
headed by a political party or a multitude of political parties are bad. It is
a crime to condemn one’s state; it is a duty, in fact it is a right to
criticize one’s government.
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The government is merely an element of the state.
Government is one part of the state. It is a part of the whole (the state). As
a part, the government is not greater than the whole. When we talk of the
state, we talk of the population, the definite territory, the government and
sovereignty. But when we talk of the government, we talk of one part, one
element of the state.
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The state’s territory is always definite. It
remains unchanged. Its boundaries remain where they are. The government’s
territory is never permanent. Ibrahim babangida move our capital from Lagos to
Abuja. The British governments had also changed their capitals to London during
the World War II, fearing the German attack.
CONCLUSION
Having discussed the meaning of the
state and government, we can see that the state and government are not the
same, though the government does everything on behalf of the state and is also
an organ of the state. The government are a state agency which make laws,
enforce them and punishes those who violate those laws.
REFRENCES
W. F. WILLOUGHBY (1996). THE GOVERNMENT OF
MORDERN STATE. APPLETON CENTURY.
GARWAL. R (2000). THE POLITICAL THEORY. NEW
DELHI: S CHAND & COMPANY LTD.
KUKAH ,M.H (1999). DEMOCRACY, STATE AND THE CIVIL
SOCIETY. NIGERIA: SPECTRUM BOOKS LTD
