STATE AND GOVERNMENT Module 3

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this topic, the students would be able to:
1. Define the meaning of the state;
2. Enumerate and discuss the elements of the state;
3. Discuss and reflect on the origins of the state;
4. Define and understand the necessity of a government;
5. Examine the different forms of government; and
6. Critique how states and governments arrange political life.
ICEBREAKER

Ano sa tingin mo ang indicators ni

Marcos Jr. sa pagkakaroon ng
“sound” and “improving” condition of
the Philippine state?
DISCUSSION IN CONTEXT
• Politics is often understood as the study of the state (Heywood, 2013) - its shadow
falls on almost every human activity (from economic management, social welfare to
sanitation, and from domestic order to external defense)
• The Philippine state has created an elite-dominated politics with weak social control
– do politicians exercise power as public officials or members of the elite class or
both? (Quilop, 2004)
• State weakness is due in part to a history of state capture by sectoral interests [...]
many presidents sought to overcome special interests and root out corruption through
tighter supervision of local agencies, hard-nosed law enforcement, or executive
dominance over the legislature—but also results in Filipinos’ equally enduring
suspicion of a strong state. (Abinales & Amoroso, 2005)
DEFINING A STATE
State
is a community of persons more or less numerous,
permanently occupying a definite portion of territory,
having a government of their own to
which the great body of inhabitants render obedience,
and enjoying freedom from external control.
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
Montevideo Convention (1933)
1. People
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty
---
*5. International Recognition (Plus but a must!)
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
People
• the inhabitants living within the state.
• Without people there can be no functionaries to govern and no
subjects to be governed.
• There is no requirement as to the number of people that should
compose a state.
• Ideally, it should be neither too small nor too large: small enough to
be well-governed and large enough to be self-sufficing.
• They carry out the state’s missions, defend its interests, and act on its
behalf. (Abinales & Amoroso, 2005)
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
Territory
• The domain of the state
• Includes the following elements:
• Territorial Domain - It includes not only the fixed
portion of land over which the jurisdiction of the state
extends
• Fluvial and Maritime Domain - the rivers and lakes
therein, a certain area of the sea which abuts upon its
coasts
• Aerial Domain - the air space above the land and the
waters.
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
Government
• the agency through which the will of the state is
formulated, expressed and carried out
• sometimes used to refer to the person or aggregate
of those persons in whose hands are placed for the
time being the function of political control
• This “body of people” is usually spoken of as
“administration”.
• The ordinary citizens of a country are a part of the
state, but are not part of the government
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
Sovereignty
defined as the supreme power of the state to command and
enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction
and corollarily, to have freedom from foreign control.
Two manifestations:
(a) Internal or the power of the state to rule within its
territory; and
(b) External or the freedom of the state to carry out its
activities without subjection to or control by other states. External
sovereignty is often referred to as independence.
ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
International Recognition
• The state must embody an international personality that
is recognized by the international community, and is
committed to become a subject of international law (see
Cruz, 2003, p. 80)
• Case in point: The First Philippine Republic on 1898
was not recognized by the international community while
the Third Republic was recognized in 1946
• Mostly implied via communications, pronouncements,
and entrance to treaty or diplomatic recognition (i.e.
PH recognition of Israel sovereignty in 1948, of Beijing
government as the one China in 1975)
ORIGINS OF STATES
Divine right theory
• It holds that the state is of divine creation and the
ruler is ordained by God to govern the people.
• Reference has been made by advocates of this
theory to the laws which Moses received at Mount
Sinai
• Example: European monarchs in pre-modern era

Louis XIV of France: L'etat c'est moi’!

(I am the state)
ORIGINS OF STATES
Necessity or force theory
• States as created through force, by some great
warriors who imposed their will upon the weak
• Example: USA’s “Benevolent Assimilation” of the PH
ORIGINS OF STATES
Paternalistic theory
• Attributes the origin of states to the
enlargement of the family which remained
under the authority of the father or mother.
• By natural stages, the family grew into a
clan, then developed into a tribe which
broadened into a nation, and the nation
became a state
• Example: United Kingdom under royal
families of French-Dutch-Scottish origins
ORIGINS OF STATES
Social contract theory
• Asserts that the early states must have been formed by deliberate
and voluntary compact among the people to form a society and
organize government for their common good.
• This theory justifies the right of the people to revolt against a bad
ruler
• Ex: American (1776) and French (1789) Revolutions; PH
Revolution (1898)?
WHERE DID THE PHILIPPINE STATE
CAME FROM?
• Divine Right?
• Necessity/Forced?
• Paternal?
• Social Contract?
STATE OR NATION?
CLARITIES AND MISCONCEPTIONS
• Nation should not also be confused with state as they are not the same.
• The state is a political concept, while nation is an ethnic concept. A nation is a group of people bound
together by certain characteristics such as common social origin, language, customs, and traditions, and who
believe that they are one and distinct from others. The term is more strictly synonymous with “people”
• A state is not subject to external control while nation may or may not be independent of external control
• A single state may consist of one or more nations or peoples and conversely, a single nation may be made
up of several states. The United States is a melting pot of several nationalities.
• On the other hand, the Arab nation is divided politically into several sovereign states. Among them are:
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and others.
• The Philippines is a state composed of one nation.
• In common usage, however, the two terms are often used synonymously. The Constitution uses them
interchangeably.
STATE OR NATION?
CLARITIES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

States with the same name and

Arab Nations in different states
The Two Korean States but different nations
STATE OR GOVERNMENT?
CLARITIES AND MISCONCEPTIONS
• In common speech, they are usually regarded as identical -
the acts of the government (within the limits of the delegation
of powers) are the acts of the state
• The government is only the agency through which the states
articulate its will.
• A state cannot exist without a government, but it is
possible to have a government without a state. (i.e. There
was no “Philippine state” during colonial periods under
foreign domination)
• A government may change, its form may change, but the
state, as long as its elements are present, remains the same.
(in international law, the principle of government continuity:
i.e. from Marcos to Aquino transition of power in 1986)
PURPOSE AND NECESSITY OF
GOVERNMENT
Advancement of the public welfare
• Government exists and should continue to exist for the benefit of the people governed.
It is necessary for:
(a) the protection of society and its members, the security of persons and property, the
administration of justice, the preservation of the state from external danger, dealings
of the state with foreign powers (constituent functions); and
(b) the advancement of the physical, economic, social, and cultural well-being of the
people. (ministrant functions)
PURPOSE AND NECESSITY OF
GOVERNMENT
Consequence of absence
• Government exists to administer for the
public welfare than any private individual or
group of individuals.
• It is obvious that without an organized
structure of government, anarchy and
disorder, and a general feeling of fear and
insecurity will prevail in society, progress and
development will not be possible, and values
taken for granted in a free modern society
such as truth, freedom, justice, equality, rule
of law, and human dignity can never be
enjoyed.
IS THE STATE A FORCE FOR GOOD?
(HEYWOOD, 2013)
Yes No
• Key to civilized existence • Cause of disorder

- a vital guarantee of order and - breeds conflict and unrest because, by

social stability robbing people of their moral autonomy
• Enemy of freedom
• Foundation of public life
- the state should be confined to a strictly
- The state speaks for the whole of minimal role due to its sovereign,
society, not just its parts; allows people compulsory and coercive traits
to be involved
• Recipe for poverty
• Agent of social justice
- the economy works best when it is left
- key agent of economic and social alone by the state
benefits (protect people from poverty)
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
• Forms of government are differentiated in terms of:
1) number of persons exercising sovereign powers
2) extent of powers exercised by the central or national government
3) relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Number of persons exercising sovereign powers
1. Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final authority is
in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of
his election of the nature or duration of his tenure. Classified
into:
1.1. Absolute monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by
divine right (Ex: Sultan Bolkiah’s Brunei); and
1.2. Constitutional monarchy or one in which the ruler rules
in accordance with a constitution (UK’s King Charles III)
2. Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised by a
few privileged class which is known as an aristocracy or
oligarchy; and
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Number of persons exercising sovereign powers
3. Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by a majority of
the people. Democratic governments are further classified into:
3.1. Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of the state is
formulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a
mass meeting or primary assembly rather through the medium of delegates
or representatives chosen to act for them
3.2. Indirect, representative, or republican democracy or one in which
the will of the state is formulated and expressed through the agency of a
relatively small and select body of persons chosen by the people to act as
their representatives

POP QUIZ: What form of government did the Philippines adopt in terms of
number of persons exercising sovereignty?
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Extent of powers exercised by the central or national government
1. Unitary government or one in which the control of national and local affairs is
exercised by the central or national government; and
2. Federal government or one in which the powers of government are divided
between two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other local affairs, each
organ being supreme within its own sphere. The United States is a federal government.

POP QUIZ: What did the Philippines adopt?

Federal Government Concerns: Defense, Educational, Monetary, & Foreign Policies
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government
1. Parliamentary government
• the state confers upon the legislature the power to terminate the tenure of office of the real
executive.
• Under this system, the Cabinet or ministry is immediately and legally responsible to the
legislature and immediately or politically responsible to the electorate, while the titular or
nominal executive – the Chief of State – occupies a position of irresponsibility
• President as head of state, Prime Minister as head of government
• Example: Israel
ISRAEL: A ‘PARLIAMENTARY’
REPUBLIC
Isaac Herzog
President of Israel
(2021-present)

Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
(2022-present)

Israel’s Parliament:
Knesset
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the
government
2. Presidential government
• the state makes the executive constitutionally independent of the legislature as
regards his tenure
• to a large extent as regards his policies and acts, and furnishes him with sufficient
powers to prevent the legislature from trenching upon the sphere marked out by
the constitution as executive independence and prerogative
• Example: Philippines `
PHILIPPINES: A ‘PRESIDENTIAL’
REPUBLIC
SUMMARY
• The State is an entity that has a territory, population, government, sovereignty, and
international recognition
• The State and Nation are not the same – the Philippines is a state composed of one nation
• The Philippine statehood is most likely derived from a social contract, but colonial history
and local governance suggest that it is also from necessity and paternity
• There are different forms of government, depending on the parameter of number of
sovereigns, relation of the national to the local, and between executive and legislative
branches
• The Philippines is an indirect democracy, with a unitary and presidential government
WHAT IS AHEAD
• Module 3 Activity:
Reform Proposal
If you were a political reformer, what aspect of the Philippine state would you change or improve (e.g., shift to
federalism, strengthen local autonomy, electoral reforms, etc.)?

● Explain why you chose that reform and how it could benefit the state.