Summary
Highlights
Societies create the state out of needs for internal security and external defense, delegating individual defense to a new structure. This delegation implies two responsibilities: funding the state and limiting its power to prevent abuse. The state's fundamental functions include organizing defense, regulating internal relations through legal frameworks, reducing internal violence for stability, and providing legal stability for economic activities. Hobbes described the state as a pact to end a permanent state of war, ensuring security for its inhabitants.
Max Weber's influential definition states that the state is a human community within a territory that claims the monopoly of legitimate physical violence. Key elements are territorial control and the legitimate use of force. The state is the sole entity authorized to use force, which is legitimate because it's regulated by laws created by the population's representatives. This legitimacy is built on control; individuals cede their right to violence to a broader institution because it is regulated and organized for the collective good, not for individual gain. When this monopoly is broken, state authority weakens, risking its existence.
The state is not neutral; it's a human creation reflecting power relations and internal conflicts. Obedience to the state requires acceptance, as violence alone is insufficient in the long term. Weber distinguishes three types of legitimacy: traditional (based on custom and tradition), charismatic (based on the appeal of a magnetic leader), and legal-rational (based on the belief that obeying written laws is beneficial for all). The monopoly of violence and legitimacy are inseparable; the state's force must be regulated, accepted, and legal. Institutions limit and control the use of power within the state.
The state has multiple levels (national, provincial, municipal), each with exclusive and undelegable competencies, such as managing natural resources, education, healthcare, and local taxes. Importantly, some nations exist without a state. In Argentina's case, the state was formed before the nation, with a national identity constructed through public policies, primarily education and health. The state plays a role in creating national identities, which are dynamic and evolve across generations. Modern nations are historical constructions constantly being reformed and changed.