POLS 1201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Nationstates, South Asia, Wage War
27 Feb 2018
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In state v individual state will almost always win: what are the defining characteristics of modern statehood, the modern state occupies a definite territory - it is anchored in a finite geographic space with borders separating other states. Is differentiated from other organizations operating in the same territory (cities, churches, corporation, etc. ) Is autonomous and sovereign: no outside actor should interfere in its right to control its territory, and no internal actor may contest its power over the population. Is centralized and unitary - there exists an unambiguous center of authority (i. e. government: why are coercion and violence so central to states, states operate through the monopolization of coercion. If not states, then what: there are virtually no territories outside antarctica left where residents are not members of some state, you could theoretically create a new state in international waters such as sealand.
