*Government: the institution through which the State maintains social order, provides public services, and enforces decisions that are binding on all people living in the State.
-State: A political community that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with power to make and enforce laws without approval from any higher authority. In order for a State to exist there must be 4 essential features present:
Population: The most obvious and essential feature for a State to exist is people.
Territory: In order for a State to exist there must be defined boundaries in which the population lives.
Sovereignty: The key characteristic of a State is sovereignty. Political sovereignty means that a state has supreme and absolute powers within its boundaries. A sovereign state has complete independence and is in no way governed by any other states government.
Government: Every State has some form of law making institution that has authority to in some way rule.
*Every State is a nation and every State is a country, however not every nation or country qualifies as a State.
-Nation: Any sizeable group of people who are usually united by common bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, and sometimes religion. Nations are often States; examples of this are the United States, France, Israel, and China. Sometimes nations do not qualify as States because they are missing one or more of the 4 essential features that must be present for a State to exist. Examples of nations that are not States are Puerto Rico, Native American tribal nations such as the Cherokee nation, and the nation of Islam.
-Country: The word country is often an alternative for the word State. Most of the time a country is the same thing as a State however there are exceptions. The most notable exception to this rule is Great Britain. The State of Great Britain is made up of 4 distinct countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Forms of Government
*There are many different types of government in the world today. There is however three major forms of government.
-Unitary System: All the key powers of the government are given to a national or central authority. This unitary authority makes most of the laws for the entire state, giving localities within the state little or no power to govern themselves. Examples are France, Italy, and China.
-Federal System: The powers of the government are divided between a central or national government and the governments of provinces, states, districts, cantons, and/or local areas such as cities and towns. In a federal system ultimate authority lies within the central or national government, however many major decisions and even laws are made in the provinces, states, districts, cities and towns. Examples are the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
-Confederate System: The powers of government are divided between a central or national government and the governments of countries, provinces, states, districts, cantons, and/or local areas such as cities and towns. In a confederate system, ultimate authority lies within countries, provinces, states, districts, cantons, and/or local areas such as cities and towns. The central government in a confederate system is usually weak and only serves as a tool to help the local governments cooperate. Examples are Switzerland, and the European Union.
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