PO110 Study Guide - De Jure
Document Summary
A human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory. The state is that core concept in political science that defines where the formal and institutional terrain of politics begins and ends. There are 193 states, and yet it can change over time. A state is: recognition by other states, sovereign, you need to people/land, some kind of formal government, and you must own the territory. The state is the car, the government is the driver. It will take the state in a different direction, but if a different person drives the car, they will direct it differently. When the car runs out of gas, you hold an election and a new person becomes the driver. A legal (de jure) and actual (de facto) condition whereby states recognize no higher authority either domestically or externally and are thus free to act as they wish.
