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GiH 3 ESO > The political organization of society > The political structure of society
Political structure of society
Political structure of society
A state is a set of institutions created to organise the lives and activities of the people who live in the same territory and are governed by the same laws, under the same authority.
Territory
Territory
States are associated with the territory they run and govern. State territories are normally defined by borders that separate them from other states and their territories.
States cannot make decisions or impose them by force outside their borders. If these rules are not respected, conflicts arise between states.
People
People
The people living in a state territory have a set of rights and duties that are the same for everyone.
The people who form part of a state do not necessarily share the same social, political and cultural background. It is common for people of different cultures and even different nationalities to coexist in the same state.
For that reason, areas within a state territory sometimes enjoy a certain degree of autonomy or self-governance that differs from the rest of the state's population and territory.
A meeting of citizens in the street.
Power
Power
What defines a state is the right to power. In the exercise of power, the state performs various functions:
It establishes the laws that regulate the social relations of the population. In democratic countries, these laws are made in parliament.
It ensures compliance with laws through the judicial authority.
It is responsible for maintaining order within the territory and for foreign security through police forces and usually an army.
It develops foreign policy. In other words, it establishes international relations with other states.
It collects taxes and uses them to finance public services and general infrastructure. It helps promote equality between the different territories and establishes social security benefits (unemployment pay, pensions, medical care, etc.).
It runs the economy through laws to regulate business activity and the labour market.
It provides public services, such as education and healthcare, and manages infrastructure and collective facilities, such as roads, railways, ports, airports, libraries, etc.
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
Referendums and elections are the two types of mechanisms by which citizens are involved in the exercise of power through voting.
This means that in referendums, citizens vote on a particular proposal, whereas in elections, citizens choose their political representatives.
Elements of democratic states
Elements of democratic states
Democracies are governed by the rule of law. In other words, those in authority must respect the laws established by the Constitution. A country's constitution is the set of fundamental laws that have been passed by citizens voting to determine the form of government, establish the rights and duties of the people, and define the state's institutions and operations.
Democratic regimes have a separation of powers so that no institution monopolises all the power:
The parliament makes and enacts the laws. It performs legislative functions and controls government action.
The government determines the policies to be followed by the state and applies them through the administration. It performs executive functions.
The judicial authority applies the laws. It judges conflicts between citizens and punishes those who do not obey the law. It performs judicial functions.
A state is democratic when citizens participate in government business. Democracy can either be direct, when citizens make decisions in assemblies or through referendums, or representative, when citizens choose their representatives in government by voting in elections.
The Senate of Spain.
In a representative democracy, the people elected through elections form the parliament, which establishes and enacts the laws and chooses the head of government and heads of other institutions.
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