EDDIE GIRDNER
Chapter 2
NATIONS AND STATES
Basic Issues in This Chapter:
1- How can we distinguish between “Nation” and “State”?
2- Plato and the state.
3- Various philosophical perspectives on the relationship between the state and society.
4- Aristotle’s six types of Government.
State: A political unit with sovereignty.
Nation: Cultural unit: A group of people who demand self-rule and who are supposed to share a
number of common characteristics such as language, tradition, origin, territory or religion.
Nation-state: Emerged as a result of a political interaction between cultural unit and political unit
(between nation and state).
Nationalism: The idea that cultural unit and political unit should be in harmony.
National identity: Identification with a particular nation.
Conditions which make national identity powerful
1When a person goes abroad to live in a country, he or she begins having strong
loyalty to his/her national identity.
2The collapse of multi-national, multi-cultural states, such as USSR, Yugoslavia, and
Czechoslovakia into smaller nation-states created a new political environment, which
encouraged national consciousness.
3Religious ideology has become an important element of identification in some
countries. (Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan): Islam is the official ideology.
Modern State
a- Territory: The modern nation states enforce their laws in a definite territory. (political meaning
of territory)
 Every state aims to control and identify itself with a territory with clear boundaries in the world.
 The size and geostrategic position of a state’s territory usually has an effect on its political
position in international politics.
b- Population:
 The state creates loyalty of population towards itself.
 Some states find it difficult to maintain their territorial and political unity. WHY?
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c- Independence:
 diplomatic recognition  official announcement by a sovereign state aiming at
establishing formal relations with another state.
d- Government:
 a group of officials with authority to make decisions in the name of the state.
 if more than one group claims this authority, this may result in a civil war.
PLATO AND THE STATE
Plato was a pupil of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle.
 his basic interest: truly good and just state. (virtue - goodness)
 the Republic: It is one of the most important books written by Plato in which his
arguments about a truly good and just state are presented.
 the Laws: Plato provides some details about how he would design such a truly
good and just state if he were the ruler.
 Plato was a citizen in Athens, the largest city-state in ancient Greece.
 Plato has a lot of criticisms about his home city, Athens.
He criticizes citizens in Athens by arguing that most citizens by nature show no
desire to do their civic duties to make Athens a better place to live.
 According to Plato most citizens are lazy or are only interested in physical
pleasure and they behave like sleeping animals. They do not do anything to make
any change in the existing political system in Athens. They like status quo.
 Plato wants to convince people that political system is based on corruption.
People do not do anything to dismiss corrupt politicians.
 Plato also believes that politicians and officials in Athens do not have enough
capacity (knowledge) to become good rulers. Politicians are without virtue of
wisdom.
 For Plato, virtue (the quality of doing what is good and right and avoiding what
is bad and wrong) is the most important element the politicians should have.
Politicians should be wise and honest.
 Politicians in Athens do not like criticisms made by people. A person who
criticizes politicians is in danger, e.g. Socrates.
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Wise man and Politician
“The wisest man knows nothing but knows that he knows nothing. A politician also
knows nothing but he does not know that he knows nothing.”
Plato’s Analogy (comparison) between the State and Individual
Plato studied political community or the state by making an analogy.
 In the individual, there are some tendencies or psychological characters.
1- The tendency of pleasure: (majority which includes craftsmen and industrialists)
-
person spends all his time eating, drinking, dancing and seeking other pleasure.
-
If a ruler with pleasure tendency comes to power he will not be interested in
improving social conditions of society.
2- The tendency to be courageous (brave)
- Person likes adventures and fighting. Because he is very brave.
-
Person may get himself killed for being too brave.
-
`This tendency should be disciplined because state needs some brave soldiers.
-
If this tendency comes to power then there will be military oligarchy or
timocracy. (powerful state without justice)
3- Rational tendency:
-Person knows how much to eat. How much to fight and how to balance his life to
be a just and moral person.
- Rational tendency must rule. And the most rational person, the philosopher king
should be the most powerful person in the state.
The just or moral state
 Plato believes that only a philosopher king can rule society justly and honestly.
 Plato believes that the philosopher king should not give people what they want
but rather what they need. This means that philosopher king will be able to
determine the needs of people and he will make decision without considering
what other people think.
 For Plato democracy is a bad form of political regime because under a
democratic regime the majority that includes ordinary citizens has power to rule.
They will be interested in having more food. They are foolish. They do not have
necessary skills to rule.
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 The brave people want to go to war. They may create chaos in society
because they may use their guns against others.
 The state can become truly good and just when a philosopher king rules it.
ARISTOTLE
 The state cannot work as a rational organ.
 A perfect unity in the state is impossible. If someone attempts to create such
perfect unity based on rational principles he destroys the state.
 A good state is one which is made up of a combination of monarchial,
aristocratic and democratic elements.
ARISTOTEL`s classification of political regimes
* His classification is based on two criteria.
- the number of rulers and method of ruling.
Aristotel`s Six-fold Classification of States
Number of ruler

one
few
many
good-legitimate

monarchy

aristocracy

polity

bad-illegitimate

tyranny
oligarchy
democracy
Monarchy: good government by a single person.
- single wise person holds all powers in his hands.
- he rules according to the principles of justice.
- he rules by considering the interests of the whole society.
- he provides security, happiness and welfare for all members.
- he is never interested in selfish benefits.
Tyranny: bad government by a single person.
- opposite of monarchy. (degenerated)
- the ruler holds all powers in his hands but uses them for his selfish interests.
- the ruler doesn’t care about the interests of society.
- it is a dictatorship of one person.
Aristocracy: good government by a nobility – (a minority group that has particular privileges in
social life.)
- a minority group of wise people controls all powers in their hands.
- they are considered to be superior to others in society.
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- they rule for the benefits of entire society.
Oligarchy: opposite of aristocracy, rule by a corrupt group.
- they only wish to have some privileges to maximize their group interests.
- there are several types of oligarchies.
 plutocracy: means a government which is ruled by a group of rich people.
 timocracy: rule by military.
Polity: a mixture of regimes
- a mixed form of government.
- there are several institutions in the state and each represent different segment of society.
- some of these institutions are elitist like monarchy and aristocracy and some have more
democratic characteristics.
- there is a balance of power.
Democracy: opposite of polity, rule by ordinary people.
- it creates chaos.
- ordinary people are given power.
- ordinary people are uneducated and selfish.
CHRISTIAN ERA
 Political ideas prepared by Greek philosophers affected the Christian era.
 St. Augustine (354-430) in the Roman Empire, combined Plato’s ideas with
Christian ideas.
 Under the rule of Roman Empire religious authority increased its power and
influence in political rule.
 The basic ideas such as justice, truth and the good state were connected with
the God. The God became the source of justice and good government.
Pope and King  temporal leader (responsible for issues of practical world)

Spiritual leader (responsible for issues of religious beliefs)
Pope began to increase his authority and Catholic Church became the most
powerful institution beginning in the Thirteenth century.
 The Pope used to spend much time following pleasure than dealing with spiritual
affairs. The Pope began to exploit people’s religious beliefs to make money.
 This influential and corrupt power of the Pope and the Catholic Church led to
the development of new ideas about more democracy
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St. Thomas Aquinas was affected by Aristotel’s ideas. He stated that a good state is one which
includes a mixed form of government. This idea generated come criticisms towards the Catholic
Church.
 The church authority in political affairs began to be challenged along with the
demand of more democracy in the Church.
M. Luther (1483-1546) organized an opposition against the Church which led to a
reformation in the position of the state in social affairs.
The separation of political rule from religion and from religious authority
Macchiavelli  “ The Prince”  He was interested in how the state’s authority could be made
strong.
According to Machiavelli:
- modern basis of political rule is power (not religion or moral values)
- A political ruler should understand how to use power to make his authority strong. (the end
justifies means)
- If it is needed religion should be used by the ruler both to gain loyalty of people and have much
power.
- religion and religious authority should be under the control of modern (secular) ruler.
- he aimed to eliminate the authority of Catholic Church.
- the ruler and his rule cannot be limited by religious or moral principles.
- if a ruler follows religious or moral principles in the ruling process, this would make his authority
weak.
- there is no need to use power when people voluntarily obey the authority of ruler. HOWEVER,
the ruler should be ready to use power. Therefore, he should have power to use when it is needed.
 These ideas of Machiavelli became the basic principles of modern states in Europe.
 Thomas Hobbes followed Machiavelli by saying that power is the fundamental
source of state’s authority.
- for him state must be all-powerful and force is necessary for the state to maintain its power.
Development of capitalism
 the newly emerging bourgeoisie began to demand power and influence in the political system.
 monarchial system began to be questioned.
 the development of capitalism led to rapid change in political structure of
medieval societies in Europe.
 the middle class began to accumulate much money and demand political participation.
John Locke and Adam Smith  support for bourgeoisie.
political power shifted from the hands of the church and monarch to the bourgeoisie.
 the emergence of liberal state  representative government
K. Mark F. Engels: (new and radical ideas)
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- justice comes up from people.
- justice is a universal principle.
- “rule of people” is equal to “rule by the working the class”.
- capitalism should be destroyed.
- communism is an ideal society in which there will be no need to have a state.
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