How do you perceive the word "State"
 

When you hear the word "State", what comes in your mind:
[LIST=1][*]Something related to government[*]A very large society, of which we are also a part[/LIST]

State is defined as a community of people occupying a definite territory united under a government which is supreme over all the associations internally and independent of any foreign control.

I would go for a third(absent) option i.e. "both a & b" in your pole:D

cheers,
floydian

yeah... u may say "both"... but in my views society comprises of the people of some specific area and government so when we say society, it includes government as well....

Yes you are rite. Lets see how others respond, specially in times when the term is so much in vogue :D .

State, as defined by "International law" means,

"Those groups of people which have acquired international recognition as an independent country and which have four characteristics; permanent and large population with, generally, a common language; a defined and distinct territory; a nations to refer to what international law calls states."

Now, a Society, on the other hand, refers only to a group of people, working or believing in some common goal/ideal. They dont have to be from the same religious or ethnic background, rather, their being together for some purpose forms a society.

So when i hear the word State, a government, running a country, comes to mind.

Thanx,

regards,

the state comprises of followings,

[B]1. a territory.

2. population.

3. government.

4. SOVEREIGNTY (which we are lacking[/B])

but in general view and perception, sometimes the government also called state. however it is an element of state. but sometimes public generally takes government as state. when government take an initiative or make any decision (whether it is according to the ppl's will or not) then we generally say this step has been taken by the state.

regards,

Zobia

[QUOTE=mhmmdkashif;171255]When you hear the word "State", what comes in your mind:
[LIST=1][*]Something related to government[*]A very large society, of which we are also a part[/LIST][/QUOTE]

@ Kashif
dont be confused between state, govt and society
[COLOR="Blue"]STATE.[/COLOR] State iz such entity or body or some times we can call it a person in International law and it should posses the following qualificatin,
1; a permanent population
2; defined territory,
3; a govrenment,
4; and which iz soveriegn fron internal and aggresion or which have capacity to into relations with other countries or states.

[COLOR="blue"]GOVERNMENT.[/COLOR]
Government iz just a constituent element of a state it consist of only those people or functionaries upon whom devolves the legislature, executive,judiciary and administrative business of the state.
[COLOR="blue"]SOCIETY.[/COLOR]
Society is a community of people whose customs, language and way of living are almost same.

State is a wider term than government and govrnment iz a wider term than a society.when we say state it means internal and external control over a territory people and govrnment.but when we say govrnment it means only internal control over people and territory and when a govt has control over group of people such group of people can only be called an organised society.

[QUOTE=nazlili21;171428]@ Kashif
dont be confused between state, govt and society
[COLOR=blue]STATE.[/COLOR] State iz such entity or body or some times we can call it a person in International law and it should posses the following qualificatin,
1; a permanent population
2; defined territory,
3; a govrenment,
4; and which iz soveriegn fron internal and aggresion or which have capacity to into relations with other countries or states.

[/QUOTE]

Dear I am not confused between state, govt. and society. You gave 4 characteristics of state, they can easily be seen even in a very basic form of society, i.e. family.

1: population: ofcourse a family also has population, i.e. its members
2: defined territory: most families have homes, or occupy an area which can be called their territory.
3: government: there is a dad in every family :D, if not dad then still someone is head of family :pp.
4: sovereignty: every family is sovereign in its affairs.

I feel its very important for everyone living in our country to understand what is meant by state. Most of ppl dont know, or just ignore it by thinking that its something govt., or a subject in international law bla bla bla :pp. Our ppl havent evolved to form a big society like Nation State, like westerners (and you can easily see that only they are the ones who are truly benefitting from Nation State system). We have just adopted this system by accident, or because its the trend in the air, but we (or most of us) actually dont care about it like we do about the society we have evolved to form (like family, or a tribe or a clan etc).

The actual knowledge of the term state to every pakistani is the key to solve the problems we are facing today.

Regards.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mhmmdkashif

1: population: ofcourse a family also has population, i.e. its members[/QUOTE]

the population should be as so much as would be sufficient to perform all the needs of culture, arts, learning, industry, agriculture, defence and civilized life.
and a family who is generally comprises on a few members cannot fulfill all above mentioned needs alone so it cannot be called population.

[QUOTE]2: defined territory: most families have homes, or occupy an area which can be called their territory.[/QUOTE]

the people must live on a definite portion of territory of an appropriate size. here i would give the examples of Israel, before occupying the Palestine, the Jews were living in their houses but they were not recognized as a state. a state must have an appropriate territory having enough natural resources within its boundaries for economic and military needs of modern life and defence. A small state cannot defend itself and perfor other functions adequately which a state is expected to perform. [B]The German writer says "The state is a power, and it is a sin for the state to be small"[/B] moreover modern tendency is towards economic self sufficiency which is only possible in large sized states. so a family cannot claim its house as a state.

[QUOTE]3: government: there is a dad in every family , if not dad then still someone is head of family .[/QUOTE]

the state plans and acts through the government. it is the government that administers the state, keeps law and orders, formulates the policy of state and organizes the people dwelling within its territory. government is the head of the body.
well family is the basic element of a society, it cannot be called state because if a family lives in a city of any country, all the family members are supposed to act according to the law of that country not according to their own family customs. for example if a boy commits a murder, he cannot be punished by his father according to his father's will. he will be punished by the judiciary according the law of the sate.

[QUOTE]4: sovereignty: every family is sovereign in its affairs.
[/QUOTE]

it is the most essential element of the state, it means the supreme, original and unlimited power exercised over all persons and association within its boundaries of the state, independent of every outside power. the sovereignty of a state is secured because of economic prosperity, defence power, and military force of the sate and because of the constitution of the state.
in islamic concept of state, Allah is the sovereign. because only He is the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.

[B]well when we study the evolution of the state, we come to know that state evolved from a family and tribes to small groups of people. there are so many concepts about the evolution of state. but now we see the states with large population, territory, powerful governments and sovereignty and we cannot confuse state with a small or large family when we see the modern states of this global age.[/B]

[COLOR="Blue"]i have just tried to explain.[/COLOR]

regards,

Zobia

Good Explaination by Zobia :clap

I may add further that usually a President heads the State, while a prime minister heads the government.
Family is a primary stage of a State, For further understanding of the issue plz read Anthropology books like "Study of Man"