State is the highest institution among all institutions. The Greek used the word “Polis”, which corresponds most nearly to the English term “State”. The Greeks used the word “Polis” for “City States”. The Romans used the word “Civitas”, which also mean the same. The Teutons employed the term “Status”, which was used as State. The modern term “State” was derived from the word “Status”.

It was Machiavelli, who first used the word State in Political Science.


Definition of State:


  1. Aristotle defined State as, “a union of families and religions having for its end a perfect and self-sufficing life, by which we mean a happy and honourable life.”


  1. Bodin defined State as, “an association of families and their common professions governed by supreme power and by reason.”


  1. According to Bluntschli, “the State is politically organised people of a definite territory.”


  1. According to Woodrow Wilson, “the State is people organised for law within a definite territory.


  1. According to Laski, “State is a territorial society divided into government and subjects claiming within its allotted physical area, a supremacy over all other institutions.”


Elements of the State:

Modern State is constituted of 4 elements: -


1. Population –

  1. State is the highest of all human associations.


  1. It is a human institution and there can be no State without human beings. A population of some kind is necessary for the existence of the State.


  1. No State can exist in an inhabited land, nor can a definite piece of land without human habitation is called a State.


  1. A State being a human institution can never exist without human beings, nor can living beings other than humans constitute a State.


2. Territory –

  1. It covers the surface of land with well-demarcated boundaries from the soil, lakes, rivers, and also air space above the land.


  1. According to Bluntschli, “as the State has its personal basis on its land so it has its material basis in land. The people do not become State until they have acquired territory. Territory is one of the basic requirements of the State whereas human activities don’t indispensably require territory. The co-existence of two or more states on the same territory could lead to continuous state of war or conflicts.”


3. Government –

  1. Government is also an indispensable element of the state because no state can exist in the absence of Government.


  1. A group of people permanently settled in a fixed territory cannot constitute a State in the absence of Government.


  1. Government is the political organisation through which collective will of the people is formulated, expressed and executed.


  1. The State operates through governmental machinery. Government is the agency through which society is politically organised, common policies are determined and by which common affairs are regulated and common interest are promoted in the absence of a government.


  1. A group of people permanently settled in a fixed territory would be incoherent, unorganised and an anarchic mass with no means of collective action.


  1. No particular type of government is essential, it may vary in kind and complexity.


  1. If two governments are formed in a country, the country is divided into two states.


  1. In the absence of government, no state can afford to exist.


4. Sovereignty –

  1. It is regarded as life and soul of the state. There can be no State in the absence of Sovereignty.


  1. The word Sovereignty has been derived from the Latin Term “Supranus”, which mean “Supreme”.


  1. It is Sovereignty that differentiates the State from all other social organisations.


  1. State is the only human institution that has all the essential elements including Sovereignty.


  1. The sovereignty of the State is expressed through the government which is supreme in internal and external matters.


Distinction between State and the Government:

The term government and state at times are used interchangeably. The stewards of England didn’t differentiate between State and Government. They did so to justify their absolute authority.


Similarly, King Louis XIV of France also used to say, “I am the State.”


There are political thinkers like Hobbes, who also consider State and the Government as one and the same.

Similarly, thinkers like Laski and Cole, find more differences between the State and the Government.


It was John Locke in the 19th Century, who first differentiated between the State and the Government.


There are many differences between the State and the Government which established that the Government cannot attain the status of statehood:


1. Government is the Agent of the State –

Government is an organisation or machinery through which the state benefits itself. Woodrow Wilson has remarked that the state is juristically organised in its government and can only speak through the government. It is also said that the government is the agency or machinery through which the collective will of the people of the State is formulated, expressed and executed.

Thus, the Government serves as an agent who carry the purpose of the State.


2. Government is Only Part of the State –

Government is only one of the four basic elements which constitute a State. It is an important constituent because State cannot function without Government. It is the Government that carries out the purpose of the State and maintain law and order in society.


3. State possess Sovereignty, but Government doesn’t –

There can be no State without Sovereignty. A State claims the status of Statehood once it attains Sovereignty. The Government does not attain sovereignty because in democracy, state sovereignty is transferred to public and people are regarded as the source of power.


4. Government changes frequently but the State remains more or less Permanent –

Government changes frequently or can collapse due to certain reasons and other political party might get a chance to form their own government.


5. State is Uniform throughout but the Governments are of many kind –

Government is of many types such as parliamentary, presidential, communist, monarchical, military rule etc. but the State is uniform whatever kind of government is created within the State.


6. Membership of the State is compulsory but not of the Government –

Every person by virtue of his birth or his blood relation is member of the state but it entirely depends upon the will of the people to become a member of the government or not.


7. Territory is an Essential Characteristic of the State but not of the Government –

Fixed territory is an essential element of the state but not of the government. No state can exist without a territory but a government can function without territory also. At times, the government of the state is established in some other state and still can function when re-established in its own state.


8. State is Abstract but Government is Concrete –

State is not concrete and does not have any practical concern. So far as government is concerned, it is practical. It has its own concrete establishment. It carries out the purpose of the state to its various department and agencies.

According to Laski, “State is nothing but Government, and assumes complete reality in the Government only.”


9. People can Oppose the Government but not the State –

People cannot afford to oppose the State because they have no right to do so. Government is servant of the State and if it goes against collective will of the people, then people can oppose the Government.


10. The State includes the whole Population but the Government includes only a few people –

The whole population of the state forms an essential component of the state but the government includes only those people who actively participate in the functioning of the government.