State and Government

RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN STATE AND

GOVERNMENT
 State is a combination or association of persons in
the form of government and governed and united
together into a politically organized people of a
definite territory.
( Elements of State: Sovereignty, Government,Population,Territory. )
MEANING OF STATE
 A body/group that exercises sovereign authority
over a nation, state, society or other body of
people.
Explanation: The government, as you know, is one element of the state. It is

the agency through which laws are made, enforced and those who violate
laws, are punished. It is the visible manifestation of state authority. It
consists of all the persons, institutions and agencies through which the will
of the state is expressed and carried out.
Keywords: authoritative, accountable, coercion/punish power, resource
determination and allocation, recruitment/assignments.
MEANING OF GOVERNMENT
STATE GOVERNMENT
 Sovereign Authority.  Element of State.

 Authority inherent in itself.  No inherent powers. The government
gets its structure, authority and power from the
Constitution of the State.
 Larger entity: Includes all.  Smaller entity: Employed, appointed,
designated, elected.
 Invisible, Abstract  Concretized form of state.
 Permanent unless merged.  Temporary.
 Territory is definite.  Territory is not definite. Many
governments had changed their capitals to London
during the World War II, fearing the German attack.
RELATION BETWEEN STATE AND

GOVERNMENT.
Above concludes that state and government are
different terms. Government is the essential
element of State and state can not survive without
its functioning. It is the face of the state, which
carries out the will of the state and fulfill its
purposes.
…………………………………………..
A) Constituent functions.
 To safeguard Rights of all individuals.

 Establishment of Justice: Social Economical, Individual, cultural, Regional etc.
 Domestic Tranquility. Peace, integrity.
 To form a more perfect Union by maintaining all round Development like-
Structural, Cultural, Technical.
 Common Defense, Security.
B) Ministrant functions.
It deals with policy making or amending in accordance to the present needs in

all fields like Education, posts and telegraphs, and the care, say, of forests which
are undertaken, not by way of governing, but by way of advancing the general
interests of society.
FUNCTIONS OF A GOVERNMENT
FOR EXPLAINATIONS
THE CONSTITUENT FUNCTIONS:
(1) The keeping of order and providing for the protection of persons and property from
violence and robbery.
(2) The fixing of the legal relations between man and wife and between parents and children.
(3) The regulation of the holding, transmission, and interchange of property, and the
determination of its liabilities for debt or for crime.
(4) The determination of contract rights between individuals.
(5) The definition and punishment of crime.
(6) The administration of justice in civil causes.
(7) The determination of the political duties, privileges, and relations

of citizens.
(8) Dealings of the state with foreign powers: the preservation of the state from external
danger or encroachment and the advancement of its international interests.
THE MINISTRANT FUNCTIONS.
It is hardly possible to give a complete list of those functions which I have called Ministrant, so various are
they under different systems of government. The following partial list will suffice, however, for the purpose
of the present discussion:
(1) The regulation of trade and industry. Under this head we can include the coinage of money and the
establishment of standard weights and measures, laws against forestalling and engrossing, the licensing of
trades,
etc., as well as the great matters of tariffs etc.
(2) The regulation of labor.
(3) The maintenance of thoroughfares, - including state management of railways and that great group of
undertakings which we embrace within the comprehensive term 'Internal Improvements.'
(4) The maintenance of postal and telegraph systems, which is very similar in principle to (3).
(5) The manufacture and distribution of gas, the maintenance of water- works, etc.
(6) Sanitation, including the regulation of trades for sanitary purposes.
(7) Education.
(8) Care of the poor and incapable.
(9) Care and cultivation of forests and like matters, such as the stocking of rivers with fish.
(10) Sumptuary laws, such as 'prohibition' laws, for example.

RELATION BETWEEN STATE AND GOVERNMENT.
It has been stated earlier that government is an essential element of state. But the terms, state and government, are often used as
identical terms. The following are differences between state and government.
1. The Government is only an Element of State:
Government is an important element of state. The collective will of state is expressed and put into practice through government. The
government has the main role in achieving the goal of the state. Therefore, the government is described as the 'brain of state'.
2. The Government is an Agency of State:
Like other organizations, the government is an agency of state. All people living in a state come under its jurisdiction, but only some
people constitute the government. Only a small number of people make laws, implement laws and exercise executive and judicial
powers.
3. State is Natural, Government is not natural:
The state is a natural institution. From the beginning of social life, there has been state in different forms. The state is omnipresent, but
history is silent about how exactly it came into existence. On the other hand, government is man-made, and the rise and fall of
governments has been part of history.
4. State is Invisible and Abstract, but Government is visible and concrete:
The State is abstract and vague while the government is concrete arid visible. We know that there is state in existence, but we cannot see
it. The Government is a definite group of persons who run the affairs of state.
5. Original Powers vs Delegated Powers:
The power of state is absolute and original while that of government is limited and delegated. State is the Principal; government is only
its agent. The state is sovereign while government enjoys those powers which are delegated to it by state.
The government symbolises the power of state, but it is always subordinate and loyal to state. As MacIver has said, "Government is the
agent which cannot be sovereign; the state is the principal, its master to which the agent most ultimately bow. The powers of state are
absolute and original; those of government are limited and delegated.
6. Form and Nature:
All states, big or small, have common elements and properties. A state has mainly four elements, namely, population, territory, government and
sovereignty. But the form of government and the mode of its formation may differ from state to state.
There are monarchies, aristocracies, democracies and dictatorship. Democracies are either presidential or parliamentary.
7. Stability:
The state is more or less permanent; government is temporary. States cease to exist through conquest or annexation. But they are far more
durable than governments which may change through periodical elections or through revolutions.
Changes in the personnel and even in the form of government do not affect the existence of the state. The people or party who control the
governmental machinery may be changed quite often without affecting the stability of the state.
People may revolt against an inefficient or dishonest government, but they would not revolt against the state.
8. Membership:
All people living in a state accept its membership. Their children also accept its membership. But it is not obligatory for people to accept the
membership of government.
The state is more or less permanent; government is temporary. States cease to exist through conquest or annexation. But they are far more
durable than governments which may change through periodical elections or through revolutions.
Changes in the personnel and even in the form of government do not affect the existence of the state. The people or party who control the
governmental machinery may be changed quite often without affecting the stability of the state.
Government is an agency to carry out the will of the state and fulfill its purposes. People have the right to revolt against or criticize the
government but they have no rights against the state. If they go against the state, it will amount to going against them. Government may
commit mistakes or blunders and for its lapses people may criticize it.
Internet References:
http://history-world.org/govfunc.htm
http://download.nos.org/srsec317newE/317EL3.pdf
http://www.readorrefer.in/article/Political-Science---The-State-And-Its-Elements_1619/
David Apter: Comparative Politics
 QUESTION BANK RELATED TO ABOVE:
 1. Explain the relation of state and
Government.
 2. discuss the role of government as an
essential element/functions of
government/ importance/relevance.
END OF THE PRESENTATION.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….

State and Government

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State and Government

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What are the main elements of a state?

What is the difference between a state and a government?

RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN STATE AND

Explanation: The government, as you know, is one element of the state. It is

 Sovereign Authority.  Element of State.

RELATION BETWEEN STATE AND

 To safeguard Rights of all individuals.

It deals with policy making or amending in accordance to the present needs in

(4) The determination of contract rights between individuals.

(5) The definition and punishment of crime.

(6) The administration of justice in civil causes.

(7) The determination of the political duties, privileges, and relations

(2) The regulation of labor.

(6) Sanitation, including the regulation of trades for sanitary purposes.

(8) Care of the poor and incapable.

(10) Sumptuary laws, such as 'prohibition' laws, for example.

1. The Government is only an Element of State:

2. The Government is an Agency of State:

3. State is Natural, Government is not natural:

4. State is Invisible and Abstract, but Government is visible and concrete:

5. Original Powers vs Delegated Powers:

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