Political Organizations

POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
EDWIN D. PADRILANAN
SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
ADAMSON UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTIONS
- Any organization or pattern of activity that is self-perpetuating and

valued for its own sake
- Embody norms or values considered central to people’s lives and thus

are not easily dislodged or changed
- Set the stage for political behavior by influencing how politics is

conducted; vary form country to country
- Exemplified by the army, taxation, elections, and the state

TIMELINE / POLITICAL ORGANIZATION IN EUROPE
10th – 9th CENTURIES, BCE Greek Dark Ages
8th – 7th CENTURIES, BCE Beginning of Greek city-states; centralization of political power in Europe
6th – 5th CENTURIES, BCE Establishment of Roman republic; first development of democracy in Athens
2nd – 1st CENTURIES, BCE Roman conquest of Greece
1st – 2nd CENTURIES, CE Roman Empire expands across Europe and into the Middle East; zenith of centralized imperial power in
Europe
3rd – 4th CENTURIES, CE Internal decline of Roman Empire; beginning of European Dark Ages; development stagnates
5th – 6th CENTUIRES, CE Rome sacked by Visigoths; widespread strife among competing European warlords
7th – 8th CENTURIES, CE Moslem armies enter Spain; Islamic world grows n power during a period of innovation and expansion
9th – 10th CENTURIES, CE Viking raids across Europe
11th -12th CENTURIES, CE European crusades into Middle East; warfare begins to consolidate Europe into district political units
12th – 13th CENTURIES, CE Period of rapid innovation and development
14th – 15th CENTURIES, CE Voyages of exploration and early imperialism; early European states centralize; Islamic world stagnates
16th – 17th CENTURIES, CE Scientific revolution; modern states develop; modern identities of nationalism and patriotism develop
THE ORIGINS OF THE MODERN STATE
Definition:
A state is an entity that relies on coercion and the threat of force to rule in a
given territory. A failed state is a state-like territory that cannot coerce and is
unable to successfully control its inhabitants of a given territory.
Elements of the state:
• People
• Territory
• Government
• Sovereignty
Weber’s definition of the state:
The organization that maintains a monopoly of violence (the legitimate

use of physical violence) over a given territory
STATE
• The monopoly of force over a given territory
• A set of political institutions to generate and carry out policy
• Typically highly institutionalized
• Sovereign
• Characterized by such institutions as an army, police, taxation, etc

REGIME
• Norms and rules regarding individual freedom and collective

equality, the locus of power, and the use of that power
• Institutionalized, but can be changed by dramatic social events such

as a revolution
• Categorized at the most basic level as either democratic or

authoritarian
• Often embodied in a constitution

GOVERNMENT
• The leadership in charge of running the state
• Weakly institutionalized
• Of the characterized by elected officials, or unelected ones (such as

in authoritarianism
• Limited by an existing regime

COMPARING STATE POWER
- States have become powerful over the past few centuries after it was
formed, forging new political, economic, and social institutions; it
eradicated all other forms of political organizations
- Not all states are the same as there are some which are powerful,
effective, prosperous, and stable; some are weak, disorganized, and
largely incapable of effective action
- What explains this range of state authority and power?

CONCEPTS IN COMPARING STATE POWER
• LEGITIMACY
• CENTRALIZATION/DECENTRALIZATION
THREE TYPES OF LEGITIMACY
CENTRALIZATION/DECENTRALIZATION
Unitary States v. Federal States
State Autonomy and Capacity
HIGH AUTONOMY LOW AUTONOMY
State able to fulfill basic tasks, with a State able to fulfill basic tasks, but public
HIGH minimum of public intervention; power plays a direct role in determining policy
CAPACITY highly centralized; strong state and is able to limit state power and scope
of activity
Danger: Too high a level of capacity and
autonomy may prevent or undermine Danger: State may be unable to develop
democracy new policies or respond to challenges
owing to the power of organized
opposition
State is able to function with a minimum States lack both the ability to fulfill basic
LOW of public interference or direct control, tasks and is subject to direct public
CAPACITY but its capacity to fulfill basic tasks is
limited
control and interference – power highly
decentralized among state and non-state
actors; weak states
Danger: State is ineffectual, limiting
development that may provoke public Danger: Too low a level of capacity and
unrest autonomy may lead to internal state
failure

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POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS

- Any organization or pattern of activity that is self-perpetuating and

- Embody norms or values considered central to people’s lives and thus

- Set the stage for political behavior by influencing how politics is

- Exemplified by the army, taxation, elections, and the state

2nd – 1st CENTURIES, BCE Roman conquest of Greece

9th – 10th CENTURIES, CE Viking raids across Europe

12th – 13th CENTURIES, CE Period of rapid innovation and development

Elements of the state:

The organization that maintains a monopoly of violence (the legitimate

• The monopoly of force over a given territory

• A set of political institutions to generate and carry out policy

• Typically highly institutionalized

• Characterized by such institutions as an army, police, taxation, etc

• Norms and rules regarding individual freedom and collective

• Institutionalized, but can be changed by dramatic social events such

• Categorized at the most basic level as either democratic or

• Often embodied in a constitution

• The leadership in charge of running the state

• Of the characterized by elected officials, or unelected ones (such as

• Limited by an existing regime

- What explains this range of state authority and power?

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