State (polity): the story on HearLore

State (polity)

The earliest states emerged not from a desire for peace, but from the need to protect grain. In the fertile valleys of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the cultivation of wheat and barley created a surplus that could be stored for years, unlike perishable root crops. This stored wealth became the target of looters and raiders, creating a desperate need for protection. Societies that relied on grain developed hierarchical structures with a ruling elite capable of collecting taxes and organizing defense, while those that relied on root crops did not. The first states were essentially protection rackets, where a central authority claimed the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force to keep the population safe from external threats. This monopoly on violence became the defining characteristic of the state, distinguishing it from the stateless societies that had existed for most of human history. The transition from loose tribal groups to centralized states was driven by the necessity of managing irrigation systems and defending stored grain, leading to the formation of the first literate civilizations and written laws.

The Word That Stands Still

The very word state carries a hidden history of permanence and sacredness. Derived from the Latin word status, meaning condition or circumstances, it ultimately comes from stare, to stand or remain. This etymology imbues the political entity with a magical connotation of being permanent and unchanging. In 14th-century Europe, the term was revived alongside Roman law to describe the legal standing of persons, particularly the special status of the king and the various estates of the realm. It was the highest estates, those with the most wealth and social rank, that held power. By the early 16th century, the works of Niccolò Machiavelli, especially The Prince, popularized the use of the word in its modern sense, separating the state from the church. The famous declaration attributed to Louis XIV, I am the State, though likely apocryphal, captured the essence of this separation. The word lost its reference to specific social groups and became associated with the legal order of the entire society and the apparatus of its enforcement. This linguistic evolution mirrors the historical shift from a society defined by religious hierarchy to one defined by a centralized political authority.

The War That Made States

Charles Tilly argued that states are essentially organized crime syndicates that sell protection from themselves. He posited that war is an essential part of state-making, and that states are created by war. The process of state formation involved war making, eliminating outside rivals, and state making, eliminating rivals inside the territory. This coercion-wielding organization exercised a clear priority over all other organizations within substantial territories. In Europe, states appeared around 990 but became particularly prominent after 1490. The number of total states in Western Europe declined rapidly from the Late Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era during a process of state formation driven by warfare. The modern state emerged as the dominant organizational form through natural selection and competition. The neo-Darwinian framework emphasizes how the modern state emerged as the dominant organizational form through natural selection and competition. The state's ability to extract resources, adjudicate disputes, and distribute goods was directly tied to its capacity to wage war and defend its territory. This coercive power allowed the state to monopolize the means of violence, distinguishing it from households and kinship groups.

Common questions

When did the earliest states emerge and why were they formed?

The earliest states emerged in the fertile valleys of Mesopotamia and Egypt to protect stored grain from looters and raiders. These societies developed hierarchical structures and a ruling elite to organize defense and collect taxes. This need for protection created the first states as essentially protection rackets with a monopoly on physical force.

What is the etymology of the word state and when was it revived in Europe?

The word state derives from the Latin word status meaning condition or circumstances and ultimately from stare meaning to stand or remain. The term was revived in 14th-century Europe alongside Roman law to describe the legal standing of persons and the special status of the king. By the early 16th century the works of Niccolò Machiavelli popularized the word in its modern sense separating the state from the church.

How did Charles Tilly describe the formation of states and when did they appear in Europe?

Charles Tilly argued that states are essentially organized crime syndicates that sell protection from themselves and that states are created by war. In Europe states appeared around 990 but became particularly prominent after 1490. The process involved war making to eliminate outside rivals and state making to eliminate rivals inside the territory.

What are the three main sources of political legitimacy identified by Max Weber?

Max Weber identified three main sources of political legitimacy as traditional grounds charismatic leadership and rational-legal authority. The modern state is characterized primarily by appeals to rational-legal authority where legitimacy is derived from the belief that a certain group has been placed in power in a legal manner. This shift from divine right to rational-legal authority marked a fundamental change in how states justified their power over their subjects.

What are the main criticisms of the state from anarchist and Marxist theorists?

Anarchists regard the state and hierarchies as unnecessary and harmful promoting a stateless society based on voluntary cooperative institutions. Marxist theorists including Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels viewed the state as a partisan instrument that primarily serves the interests of the upper class. They believed that the state would wither away in a classless society replaced only by the administration of things.

What causes state failure and how did European colonization contribute to it?

State failure occurs when sovereignty over claimed territory has collapsed or was never effectively at all due to weak or non-existent institutions. European colonization defined many arbitrary borders that mixed different cultural groups under the same national identities making it difficult to build states with legitimacy among all the population. Many of these states emerged from colonization in a state of poverty and with institutions designed to extract natural resources.