The State and Political Systems

 The emergence of nation states began from what was called the city-states. The first welldocumented city-state appeared in southern Mesopotamia in Sumer around 5000 BCE. The format of the city-state has been with us and developed in every part of the world since then. 

 Nation states differed from city-states in the sense that even though city states and nation states may have shared commonalities such as a mutual history, language, and traditions, nation states often consisted of several city-states and lacked some of the homogeneous features of the city state. They were, despite the term “nation,” somewhat less ardently nationalistic in outlook. Sometimes conflicts arose within nations between the city-states themselves. 50

City-states arose at different times in different parts of the world. Important city-states encompassed Venice, Genoa, Florence, Siena, and Lucca. These were well known city-states and were thought of as significant Italian city-states. The Lydians had city-state in the period of 540-360 BCE. in southwest Anatolia. 

 Wars erupted between many city-states. An example of this happened in Athens and Sparta. Over time, religious differences brought about a lack of homogeneity; changes in class and caste weakened many of the city-states. This, combined with the growing power of states surrounding the city-state, ended the development of city-states. 

Characteristics which defines citizenship include: a. Membership of the democratic political community, b. Having access to the collective benefits and rights associated with membership, and c. Participating in your community’s political, social and economic process.

Citizenship is the privilege of membership of a political community. The political community in this context means a community to which one owes certain duties. 

Normative Theories set the rights and duties that should ideally be performed by a citizen. They examine the attributes and advantages of a good citizen. The arguments that support this view are based on historical facts. Usually, attributes that are no longer tenable are abandoned for the new. For example, the view that good citizenship depends on one’s ability to contribute to his/her country through military service is gradually no longer rational.

Empirical Theories, on their part, explains how citizens came about having those rights and duties associated with citizenship. Empirical theories explore the social, economic, and political processes that have fashioned the emergence of citizenship in different times and places. They also explore the different ways through which different groups of people have been able to access such citizenship. As such, the objectives of empirical theories are to understand how and why citizenship came about as well as to expound the forms of citizenship. 

Government is defined as a system through which a state or an entity is controlled. In the same way, government may be considered as the group of people exercising executive authority over a state. 

A president or a prime minister may head the Executive branch of government, and this will depend on whether the country is practicing a parliamentary or a presidential system of governance. For example, in a presidential system the president is the head of the executive branch with the constitution empowering him/her to enforce the laws of the country. In most countries, citizens of the country elect the president. This is particularly true in democracies. 

The legislative branch of government makes the laws. In the United States, the legislative branch of government is the Congress and it is bicameral, or divided into two parts. The “Senate” is made up of 100 senators and the “House of Representatives” is made up of 435 members. 

A unitary system of government is a political arrangement where a large proportion of power resides with the central government. The central administration arrives at decisions and channels them to sub-national units for implementation. 

Federalism is a political system that brings together separate states within a larger political set-up, but allows for each entity to maintain its own fundamental political integrity. In a federal system, basic policies are implemented through some form of negotiation while ensuring that members share in decision-making processes that impact their citizens. 

 A confederal system is one where loose states agree to abide by the dictates of a powerful central government.  Nations that constitute the confederacy are not obliged to follow the lead of a weak central government. Examples of confederacies include the former Soviet Union, the Confederate States of the United States (1861-1865), and Switzerland’s Canton system. A confederation can be described as a union of sovereign states whereby each constituent party maintains its autonomy. Another example of a confederation is the German Confederation.

 A typical federal state is characterized by the existence of a rigid constitution that guarantees the intermediate governments to have a degree of autonomy that is permanent and that has access to legislative, executive, and judicial powers. Sub-national governments are represented at the national level on equal footing with each other and will have to consent in case of changes in the national constitution, especially since such changes may impact power distribution that may consequently affect their functioning.

Parliamentary systems have certain advantages. In parliamentary systems, it is easier and faster to pass legislation. This is true because the executive branch of government is formed through the direct or indirect support of the legislature. It is an attractive governmental system for countries that are racially, ethnically, or ideologically diverse. Power is also evenly spread out in a parliamentary system in such a way that no one person can monopolize state power. Some have argued that a parliamentary system tends not to have a high level of corruption, as may be the case in a presidential system. 

• The executive branch can veto legislature acts and similarly a supermajority of lawmakers can override such a veto.• Presidential systems have fixed terms of office. Elections are held regularly and  cannot be triggered by a vote of no confidence or a parliamentary procedure except the president has broken the law. • In a presidential system, the executive branch is one individual. Members of cabinet are answerable to the president. In case of nominations to cabinet, the judiciary and lower positions in government, approval is required from the legislative branch. The president is expected to direct members of cabinet and the   military but cannot dismiss judges at random. • Presidents can often pardon or commute sentences of convicted criminals. 

Pluralism is a system whereby there exists no single source of authority within a state. Pluralism is viewed as the opposite of a monistic theory of state, which is usually thought to be endowed with supreme and unlimited power. In a pluralistic system, sovereignty is considered as resting not only with the state, but also with many other institutions. The state is only one of the institutions among social, political, cultural, and economic institutions within the society.

A monarchy is a form of government where the sovereignty of the state is embodied in one or a few individuals who are expected to remain in power until death or until they decide to abdicate power. 

Absolute monarchy: An absolute monarchy has few or no legal restraints on political matters. It can be described as a form of autocracy. Absolute monarchies are habitually hereditary. They are assumed to exercise total control over the land; Constitutional monarchy: The monarch may exercise limited discretion. This may also be called a crown republic, a limited monarchy, or a parliamentary monarchy; Elective monarchy: In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected. This type of monarchy differs from a hereditary monarchy where office is automatically conferred to a family member based on inheritance. 

Dictatorship describes a form of government where political power is concentrated in the hands of a single entity and exercised through a diversity of mechanisms which ensure that the entity’s power remains absolute. Dictatorships are authoritarian in the sense that politicians attempt to regulate every aspect of the public life and private life of normal people. These forms of government utilize political propaganda to subdue alternative governing systems. 

Democracy is a system of government in which citizens of a state partake in decisionmaking processes of state affairs. This is done through electing representatives to a parliament or an assembly. 

 There are several variations of democracy. The two main ones include direct democracy and representative democracy. In direct democracies, citizens actively participate in political decision-making. In representative democracy, sovereignty remains with the people. Political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives. 

 In an oligarchy (rule by a few), power effectively remains in the hands of small number of individuals. These could be individuals of the same royalty, class, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, religious or military class who control state affairs. Oligarchies have a history of tyranny. 

 a) it has constraints on political institutions and groups (the legislature, political parties, and interest groups), b) its basis for legitimacy is based on emotion, c) the regime is viewed as a necessary evil that must solve an existing social problem, d) it does not have an extensive system of political mobilization.