A state is a set of institutions that possess the power to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. Following Max Weber's influential definition, a state has a 'monopoly on legitimate violence'. Hence the state includes such institutions as the armed forces, civil service or state bureaucracy, courts, and police. For theorists of international relations, recognition of the state's claim to independence by other states, enabling it to enter into international engagements, is key to the establishment of its sovereignty.

Although the term often refers broadly to all institutions of government or rule—ancient and modern—the modern state system bears a number of characteristics that were first consolidated in western Europe, beginning in earnest in the 15th century.

In the late 20th century, the globalization of the world economy, the mobility of people and capital, and the rise of many international institutions all combined to circumscribe the freedom of action of states. However, the state remains the basic political unit of the world, as it has been since the 16th century. The state is therefore considered the most central concept in the study of politics, and its definition is the subject of intense scholarly debate. Political sociologists in the tradition of both Karl Marx and Max Weber usually favor a broad definition that draws attention to the role of coercive apparatus.

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USATODAY.com Nation - Top Stories

Southern coasts watch Hanna
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:28:05 -0000
Many Atlantic Coast residents battened down their homes as Hanna headed their way.
Report: Americans more likely to have tried illicit drugs
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:09:26 -0000
Cocaine and methamphetamine use among young adults declined significantly last year as supplies dried up, leading to higher prices ...
Detroit mayor may make plea deal
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:54:15 -0000
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his lawyers and the Wayne County prosecutor appeared briefly in court before going behind closed ...
Fire retardant chemicals found in toddlers' blood
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:45:07 -0000
A new study finds that young children have high levels of chemical fire retardants in their blood. Toddlers and preschoolers ...
Jesse Jackson hospitalized after stomach pains
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:51:24 -0000
The Rev. Jesse Jackson is being treated at a Chicago hospital after experiencing stomach pains.
Jury awards $55M to kin of 4 Marines who died in '04 crash
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:00:47 -0000
A jury has found a utility negligent in the deaths of four U.S. Marines who were killed when their helicopter hit an unlit tower ...

The Economist: United States

The campaign trail: Conventional wisdom
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
Gilding the lily“To give them haircuts and make them all spiffed up for the Democratic National Convention, because they’re part of our community as well.” ...
The Democratic convention: Flags, cheers, discipline and doubt
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
Barack Obama struggled this week to unite his partyTHERE were two conventions in Denver this week. One was a joyful event. Cheered on by throngs of jubilant activists, the Democratic Party’s brightest and most boisterous speakers praised Barack Obama extravagantly and rejoiced that in a mere four months the Bush-Cheney tyranny will be over. The other convention, which took place mostly behind the scenes, was more bitter. Some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters still cannot believe that Democratic primary voters spurned their brilliant and battle-tested candidate for a smooth-talking novice. And despite the party’s heroic efforts to present a united face to the cameras, the cracks kept showing. ...
Lexington: Joebama
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
Joe Biden brings both strengths and weaknesses to the Democratic ticketHIS first run for the presidency collapsed, in 1987, after a bizarre act of plagiarism. Bizarre because Joe Biden not only borrowed the words of another politician, Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party. That is par for the course in modern politics. He borrowed his life-story, too. He claimed that he was the first Biden to go to university and that his ancestors had worked down a coal mine, both untrue. The only thing he did not claim was to be Welsh. This was doubly damaging because Mr Biden, like the man whose identity he tried to purloin, is a notorious wind-bag. He loves nothing more than the sound of his own voice. And when he talks the sentences and paragraphs tumble over each other with no obvious end in sight. Members of the audience just have to cross their fingers and hope. ...
Swing states: Missouri: Show me a showdown
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
Who can win the state whose capture traditionally leads to the White House?AT A park in downtown St Louis, three women are drinking Bud Light and watching a demonstration of Scottish tossing-the-caber. It is a peaceful scene at the Festival of Nations, but worries simmer beneath the surface. The women supported Hillary Clinton, and are now undecided. Barack Obama is “a wonderful young man”, but inexperienced in foreign policy. John McCain is “honourable”, but perhaps not up to the task. These are typical concerns from an average undecided voter in this state. Missouri has 5.8m people and 11 electoral votes. Its moderate size belies its traditional role in presidential elections. There are ways to win the White House without winning Missouri, but few candidates have managed it. The state has voted for the victor in 25 of the last 26 elections. The exception was in 1956, when America went for Dwight Eisenhower, a popular Republican war hero, in a landslide. Missourians gave it to Adlai Stevenson, a cerebral Democrat from neighbouring Illinois. ...
After Katrina (1): Half-empty streets
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
New Orleans is recovering its energy, but not its peopleTHREE years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the shape of the post-flood city is starting to emerge. Demographers put the city’s current population at about 325,000, two-thirds the size that it was before Katrina, and expect no dramatic change for the next few years. The Census Bureau thinks the number is quite a bit lower than that.The loss of so many residents, possibly permanently, has created a raft of problems for a city that already had plenty. A new study notes that about a third of the 50 districts that flooded have yet to regain 50% of their households. And that sorry statistic begets another. A second recent report has found that New Orleans has the country’s highest percentage of vacant residential addresses. Most of those vacant units cannot be lived in. ...
After Katrina (2): The trailers that smelt bad
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
After the storm, the poisoningWHEN Hurricane Katrina displaced more than 1m people on the Gulf coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) put in a rush order for 120,000 trailers. They were intended as temporary housing. A year ago, more than 50,000 trailers were still in use in Louisiana and Mississippi; today, about 15,000 remain. As the time passed, complaints emerged. The trailers had a funny smell, and residents were coming down with nosebleeds, asthma and headaches. Some shrugged this off: any shelter after a storm. But as early as 2006, tests showed that some of the trailers contained dangerously high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogenic chemical used in building materials. The sweltering summers made it worse. FEMA knew about the problems, but ignored them. ...

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