- List of Boxes
- About the Authors
- Guided Tour of the Textbook Features
- Guided tour of the Online Resources
- World Map
- 1. Introduction: The Nature of Politics and Political Analysis
- 2. Politics and the State
- 3. Political Power, Authority, and the State
- 4. Democracy and Political Obligation
- 5. Freedom and Justice
- 6. Traditional Ideologies
- 7. Challenges to the Dominant Ideologies
- 8. Institutions and States
- 9. Political Culture and Non-Western Political Ideas
- 10. Law, Constitutions, and Federalism
- 11. Votes, Elections, Legislatures, and Legislators
- 12. Political Parties
- 13. Executives, Bureaucracies, Policy Studies, and Governance
- 14. Civil Society, Interest Groups, and the Media
- 15. Democracies, Democratization, and Authoritarian Regimes
- 16. Introducing Global Politics
- 17. Traditional Theories in Global Politics
- 18. Critical Approaches to Global Politics
- 19. Security and Insecurity
- 20. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
- 21. International Organizations in Global Politics
- 22. Global Political Economy
- 23. Conclusion: Towards a Globalizing, Post- Western-Dominated World
- Glossary
- References
- Index
8. Institutions and States
- Chapter:
- 8. Institutions and States
- Author(s):
Peter Ferdinand
- DOI:
- 10.1093/hepl/9780198820611.003.0008
This chapter deals with institutions and states. Institutions are essentially regular patterns of behaviour that provide stability and predictability to social life. Some institutions are informal, with no formally laid down rules such as the family, social classes, and kinship groups. Others are more formalized, having codified rules and organization. Examples include governments, parties, bureaucracies, legislatures, constitutions, and law courts. The state is defined as sovereign, with institutions that are public. After discussing the concept of institutions and the range of factors that structure political behaviour, the chapter considers the multi-faceted concept of the state. It then looks at the history of how the European type of state and the European state system spread around the world between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. It also examines the modern state and some of the differences between strong states, weak states, and democratic states.
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- List of Boxes
- About the Authors
- Guided Tour of the Textbook Features
- Guided tour of the Online Resources
- World Map
- 1. Introduction: The Nature of Politics and Political Analysis
- 2. Politics and the State
- 3. Political Power, Authority, and the State
- 4. Democracy and Political Obligation
- 5. Freedom and Justice
- 6. Traditional Ideologies
- 7. Challenges to the Dominant Ideologies
- 8. Institutions and States
- 9. Political Culture and Non-Western Political Ideas
- 10. Law, Constitutions, and Federalism
- 11. Votes, Elections, Legislatures, and Legislators
- 12. Political Parties
- 13. Executives, Bureaucracies, Policy Studies, and Governance
- 14. Civil Society, Interest Groups, and the Media
- 15. Democracies, Democratization, and Authoritarian Regimes
- 16. Introducing Global Politics
- 17. Traditional Theories in Global Politics
- 18. Critical Approaches to Global Politics
- 19. Security and Insecurity
- 20. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
- 21. International Organizations in Global Politics
- 22. Global Political Economy
- 23. Conclusion: Towards a Globalizing, Post- Western-Dominated World
- Glossary
- References
- Index
