Comparative Government & Politics: States

Lecture two discusses states. A state is the organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory. Topics include: the differences among state, regime, and government; the history of the emergence of the state in Europe; state power regarding strong states vs. weak states, state autonomy, and state capacity.

Key Terms:
asymmetric federalism • autonomy • capacity • charismatic legitimacy • country • devolution • failed state • federalism • government • legitimacy • rational-legal legitimacy • regime • sovereignty • state • strong state • traditional legitimacy • unitary state • weak state

Learn Comparative Government and Politics is a project of Scott Duryea, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Security and Global Studies at American Public University) to provide political science education to the masses.