The importance of the state to global politics

The state can be seen as a major player in international relations. Many argue that the state is the foremost and most important player in global politics. It is important because the state is an operator of global politics and because global politics exists on the basis of the state.

But others argue that state power is declining today. Multinational corporations are becoming more powerful than NGOs, and state power in global politics is declining.

Simply put, the state is a political and legal entity. Each state has several features in common.

1. Every state has a clearly defined territory and all other parts of the state exist within this territory.
2. Every state must have a permanent population and that is when it becomes a state. A person living in a state is called a citizen.
3. Every state must have a government. The orders of the state are practically carried out by the government. Governments can vary, and the government has the responsibility to control the territory and enforce the law. The visible arm of the state is the government.
4. Sovereignty is the authoritarian power that exists in the state. It is because of this power that the state can govern without external interference. This power is unlimited and the power to legislate comes through this sovereignty.
5. It is very important to identify a state. It is a problem if one country does not recognize another as a country with a political and legal structure. It affects the very existence of that state and it also affects globally. A recognized state receives a seat on the United Nations.
6. The monopoly of the use of power means that the monopoly of the exercise of power within the state is vested in the central government. The government is able to maintain peace and security in the state according to the powers vested in it by the state.

A feature of modern politics is a large number of nations in many states. These nations depend on the existence of the state. State and nation are not one. The state is an institution composed of political and legal systems. A nation is an element of cultural needs. These nations may be of different religious, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, and the relationship between government and the nations may be weak. For example, if they do not accept their language, religion and culture, they will have a sense of nationalism about the state. They then begin to demand a separate country for their culture and try to create conflict with the government. The 30-year war in Sri Lanka is a good example of this.

Thus the importance of the state to global politics can be seen.