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What is Government?

What is Government? . Origins of the Nation-State. Why Government?. What is Government? Why do we need a Government? What would happen if we had no Government?. How old are Governments? . Date back to ancient times, Egypt and 6 th century BC.

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What is Government?

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  1. What is Government? Origins of the Nation-State

  2. Why Government? • What is Government? • Why do we need a Government? • What would happen if we had no Government?

  3. How old are Governments? • Date back to ancient times, Egypt and 6th century BC. • But before that we had early man, family to extended family to clan to town to city to nation.

  4. Government Defined • Government is the institution through with a society makes and enforces its public policies. • Government is made up of the people who exercise the government’s powers and have authority to control people. (Legislators/Laws, Executive/enforce, Judges/Interpret or apply laws). • Public policies of a government are all those things a government decides to do. • Examples: taxes, setting minimum wage, regulating agency, maintain large armed forces.

  5. The State • The State is the dominate political unit. • A body of people living in a defined territory organized politically with the power to make and enforce laws. • Over 180 states in the world, of different size and power. Ex; The United States, China, Luxembourg, etc… What is the smallest State in the world? Vatican City

  6. Characteristics of States • All states have 4 basic characteristics: 1) Population: size has nothing to do with it neither does homogeneity (all people the same) heterogeneous (different languages, races and customs) examples? America (Heterogeneous) North Korea (Homogeneous)

  7. Characteristics of States Cont 2) Territory: or recognized boundaries, small Luxembourg, largest Russian 7million sq miles. 3) Sovereignty: every state is sovereign or has supreme and absolute power within its own territory. Each state decides its on domestic and foreign policy and form of government. • Virgin Islands and Guam are territorial possessions of the U.S. 4) Government: each state has their own form of government.

  8. Origins of the State: 1. Force Theory: one person or group claimed control over an area and force all within to submit to their rule. All elements of the state were present.  2. Evolutionary Theory: the primitive family with one head was the basis for the creation of a state; this led to clans or tribes, Nomads to settlements= state.

  9. Origins of the State Cont • Divine Right 15th to 18th century in the western world. State was created by God and those of royal birth had the divine right to rule. Democratic rule of today sprang from questioning this type of rule. Divine right dates back to the ancients, China, Egypt, etc. -(Mandate from Heaven, could be taken away but not by the gods, by man?!) 4. Social Contract: Humans searching for better conditions band together to protect from aggression and attack. People agree to give up to the state as much power as needed to promote the well being of all.

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