Why Is The State A Central Concept In Studying Politics D5
Why is the state a central concept in studying politics?
Once described as “the shadow which falls upon almost every human activity” (Heywood, 2007: 89), the state has traditionally been at the center of much political analysis because it is regarded as the highest form of authority, being inextricably linked with sovereignty, and as the supreme law-making body in a society (Garner et al., 2012: 7). The state shapes and controls, and where it does not, it regulates, supervises, authorizes or proscribes every activity from education to economic management, from social welfare to sanitation and from domestic order to international security, even those aspects of life considered personal or private (Heywood, 2007: 89). Politics is often understood as the study of the state through the analysis of its institutional organization and the evaluation of its impact on the society (Heywood, 2007: 89). This essay will provide three reasons explaining the pivotal position of the concept of state in the study of politics.
As argued by Gallie, the first reason for which the state is a central concept in studying politics comes from its paradoxical nature of being “a classical example of an essentially contested concept” (Gallie mentioned in Garner et al., 2012: 27). Gallie is in accordance with Hoffman and Graham, who add that, “the state is not a suitable concept for political theory, since it is impossible to define it” (Hoffman and Graham, mentioned in Garner et al., 2012: 27). Although it may seem impossible to define the state, everybody knows that it plays an essential role both at the national and the international levels, a fact supported by its historical backgrounds. The concept of state dates back to the triumph of the monarchs throughout the 15th and 16th centuries (van Creveld, 1999:108), when it replaced feudal societies and established itself, after the 30 Years War and The Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, as an “instrument of power” in the Modern Age (van
Once described as “the shadow which falls upon almost every human activity” (Heywood, 2007: 89), the state has traditionally been at the center of much political analysis because it is regarded as the highest form of authority, being inextricably linked with sovereignty, and as the supreme law-making body in a society (Garner et al., 2012: 7). The state shapes and controls, and where it does not, it regulates, supervises, authorizes or proscribes every activity from education to economic management, from social welfare to sanitation and from domestic order to international security, even those aspects of life considered personal or private (Heywood, 2007: 89). Politics is often understood as the study of the state through the analysis of its institutional organization and the evaluation of its impact on the society (Heywood, 2007: 89). This essay will provide three reasons explaining the pivotal position of the concept of state in the study of politics.
As argued by Gallie, the first reason for which the state is a central concept in studying politics comes from its paradoxical nature of being “a classical example of an essentially contested concept” (Gallie mentioned in Garner et al., 2012: 27). Gallie is in accordance with Hoffman and Graham, who add that, “the state is not a suitable concept for political theory, since it is impossible to define it” (Hoffman and Graham, mentioned in Garner et al., 2012: 27). Although it may seem impossible to define the state, everybody knows that it plays an essential role both at the national and the international levels, a fact supported by its historical backgrounds. The concept of state dates back to the triumph of the monarchs throughout the 15th and 16th centuries (van Creveld, 1999:108), when it replaced feudal societies and established itself, after the 30 Years War and The Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, as an “instrument of power” in the Modern Age (van