Polity

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A polity is an identifiable political entity, defined as a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. [1]

Contents

A polity can be any group of people organized for governance, such as the board of a corporation, the government of a country, or the government of a country subdivision. A polity may be a republic administered by an elected representative or the realm of a hereditary monarch.

When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, states with limited recognition, constituent country, or a dependent territory. [2] [3] [4]

Overview

Frontispiece of Leviathan, 1651 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.jpg
Frontispiece of Leviathan , 1651

In geopolitics, a polity can manifest in different forms such as a state, an empire, an international organization, a political organization or another identifiable, resource-manipulating organizational structure. A polity like a state does not need to be a sovereign unit. The preeminent polities today are Westphalian states and nation-states, commonly referred to as countries.

A polity may encapsulate a multitude of organizations; many of these may form or are involved to the apparatus of contemporary states such as their subordinate civil and local government authorities. [5] [6] Polities do not need to be in control of any geographic areas, as not all political entities and governments have controlled the resources of one fixed geographic area. The historical Steppe Empires originating from the Eurasian Steppe are the most prominent example of non-sedentary polities. These polities differ from states because of their lack of a fixed, defined territory. Empires also differ from states in that their territories are not statically defined or permanently fixed and consequently that their body politic was also dynamic and fluid. It is useful then to think of a polity as a political community.

A polity can also be defined either as a faction within a larger (usually state) entity or at different times as the entity itself. For example, Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan are parts of their own separate and distinct polity. However, they are also members of the sovereign state of Iraq which is itself a polity, albeit one which is much less specific and as a result much less cohesive. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to belong to more than one polity at a time.

Thomas Hobbes was a highly significant figure in the conceptualisation of polities, in particular of states. Hobbes considered notions of the state and the body politic in Leviathan , his most notable work. [7]

Polities do not necessarily need to be governments. A corporation, for instance, is capable of marshalling resources, has a governance structure, legal rights and exclusive jurisdiction over internal decision making. An ethnic community within a country or coast to coast entity may be a polity if they have sufficient organization and cohesive interests that can be furthered by such organization.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government</span> System or group of people governing an organized community, often a state

A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.

Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science.

A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sovereignty</span> Supreme authority within a territory

Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate authority over other people in order to establish a law or change existing laws. In political theory, sovereignty is a substantive term designating supreme legitimate authority over some polity. In international law, sovereignty is the exercise of power by a state. De jure sovereignty refers to the legal right to do so; de facto sovereignty refers to the factual ability to do so. This can become an issue of special concern upon the failure of the usual expectation that de jure and de facto sovereignty exist at the place and time of concern, and reside within the same organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Hobbes</span> English philosopher (1588–1679)

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. In addition to political philosophy, Hobbes contributed to a diverse array of other fields, including history, jurisprudence, geometry, theology, and ethics, as well as philosophy in general. He is often considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation</span> Political union of partially self-governing territories under a national government

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Authority</span> Legitimate power to decide or authorize

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A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. A federated state does not have sovereignty since powers are divided between the other federated states and the federal government. Federated states are different from sovereign states.

<i>Leviathan</i> (Hobbes book) Book by Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly referred to as Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), it argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature could be avoided only by a strong, undivided government.

In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state.

State most commonly refers to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centralisation</span> Process by which control becomes more concentrated

Centralisation or centralization is the process by which the activities of an entity or organization, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making and control of strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular group, sector, department or region within that entity or organization. This creates a power structure where the said group, known as head or core group, occupies the highest level of hierarchy and has significantly more authority, prestige and influence over the other groups, who are considered its subordinates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Crown</span> States in the Commonwealth realms

The Crown broadly represents the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions. The term can be used to refer to the office of the monarch or the monarchy as institutions; to the rule of law; or to the functions of executive, legislative, and judicial governance and the civil service.

Governance is the process of making and enforcing decisions within an organization or society. It encompasses decision-making, rule-setting, and enforcement mechanisms to guide the functioning of an organization or society. Effective governance is essential for maintaining order, achieving objectives, and addressing the needs of the community or members within the organization. Furthermore, effective governance promotes transparency, fosters trust among stakeholders, and adapts to changing circumstances, ensuring the organization or society remains responsive and resilient in achieving its goals. It is the process of interactions through the laws, social norms, power or language as structured in communication of an organized society over a social system. It is done by the government of a state, by a market, or by a network. It is the process of choosing the right course among the actors involved in a collective problem that leads to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of acceptable conduct and social order". In lay terms, it could be described as the processes that exist in and between formal institutions.

A superstate is defined as "a large and powerful state formed when several smaller countries unite", or "A large and powerful state formed from a federation or union of nations", or "a hybrid form of polity that combines features of ancient empires and modern states." This is distinct from the concept of superpower, although these are sometimes seen together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preamble to the Constitution of India</span> Set of guidelines to the nation and the Constitution of India

The Preamble to the Constitution of India presents the principles of the Constitution and indicates the sources of its authority. The preamble is based on the Objectives Resolution, which was moved in the Constituent Assembly by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946 accepted on 22 January 1947 and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, coming into force on 26 January 1950, celebrated as the Republic Day of India. It was amended during the Indian emergency by Indira Gandhi where the words "socialist", "secular" and "integrity" were added.

A sovereign state is a state that has the highest authority over a territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body politic</span> Metaphor comparing a polity to a body

The body politic is a polity—such as a city, realm, or state—considered metaphorically as a physical body. Historically, the sovereign is typically portrayed as the body's head, and the analogy may also be extended to other anatomical parts, as in political readings of Aesop's fable of "The Belly and the Members". The image originates in ancient Greek philosophy, beginning in the 6th century BC, and was later extended in Roman philosophy. Following the high and late medieval revival of the Byzantine Corpus Juris Civilis in Latin Europe, the "body politic" took on a jurisprudential significance by being identified with the legal theory of the corporation, gaining salience in political thought from the 13th century on. In English law the image of the body politic developed into the theory of the king's two bodies and the Crown as corporation sole.

References

  1. Ferguson, Yale; Mansbach, Richard W. (1996). "Polities: Authority, Identities, and Change". Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press.
  2. Fowler, Michael Ross; Bunck, Julie Marie (1996). "What constitutes the sovereign state?". Review of International Studies. Cambridge University Press (CUP). 22 (4): 381–404. doi:10.1017/s0260210500118637. ISSN   0260-2105. S2CID   145809847.
  3. "Countries Not in the United Nations 2024". World Population by Country 2024 (Live). June 26, 1945. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  4. "Recognition and its Variants". academic.oup.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  5. Black's Law Dictionary, 4th ed. (1968). West Publishing Co.
  6. Uricich v. Kolesar, 54 Ohio App. 309, 7 N.E. 2d 413.
  7. Hobbes, Thomas (1651). Leviathan. Retrieved 2 January 2019.