What does state mean in anthropology?



States are the most complex form of political organization and are characterized by a central government that has a monopoly over legitimate uses of physical force, a sizeable bureaucracy, a system of formal laws, and a standing military force.

What is political state anthropology?

States are minimally defined by anthropologist David S. Sandeford as socially stratified and bureaucratically governed societies with at least four levels of settlement hierarchy (e.g., a large capital, cities, villages, and hamlets).

What is a state in political term?

A state is a political division of a body of people that occupies a territory defined by frontiers. The state is sovereign in its territory (also referred to as jurisdiction) and has the authority to enforce a system of rules over the people living inside it.

What a state is in political analysis?





A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state.

What is the real definition of a state?

According to one definition, a state is a community formed by people and exercising permanent power within a specified territory. According to international law, a state is typically defined as being based on the 1933 Montevideo Convention.

What are the states meaning?

informal. : the United States of America. My cousin from England is coming to visit me in the States.

What is a state in political sociology?



The state is a form of human association distinguished from other social groups by its purpose, the establishment of order and security; its methods, the laws and their enforcement; its territory, the area of jurisdiction or geographic boundaries; and finally by its sovereignty.



What is an example of a state in political science?

States are defined by sovereignty over territory and a group of people. They are what we commonly call countries. [1] The United States, Great Britain, and Nigeria are all examples of states.

What are the 4 characteristics of a political state?

A state has the following four characteristics: (a) population, territory, sovereignty, and government.

Why is it called a state?

State comes from the Latin status, meaning “condition of a country.” Interestingly, even before the Revolutionary War, Britain called the American colonies states. The “States” still refers to America, but state can refer to any country’s civil government.

What is the difference between a nation and a state?

While the terms country, state, and nation are often used interchangeably, there is a difference. A State (note the capital “S”) is a self-governing political entity. The term State can be used interchangeably with country. A nation, however, is a tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture.

What is a state in Archaeology?



The term “state” in the compound “archaeology–state nexus” requires attention. Raymond Michalowski (2010: 23–24) notes how. In some studies…’the state’ refers to the activities of actors in institutions of government. In others, it refers to a loosely defined linkage between economic and political institutions.

How do sociologists define the state?

Definition of State
(noun) A system of power and authority that claims the legitimate right to use force, composed of institutions (i.e., government, legal system, military, police) that regulates society within its territory.

What is a state in philosophy?

A group of people residing permanently within a particular territory with an independent government is called a state. The state is a universal, powerful and indispensable institution. The term ‘State’ was first coined by the western philosopher Nicholo Machiavelli.

What are 4 things that define a state?

It is accepted that any territory that wants to be considered a state must meet four criteria. These are a settled population, a defined territory, government and the ability to enter into relations with other states. These were originally set out in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.

What statement best defines a state *?



The state can be defined as the centralized, law-making, law-enforcing, politically sovereign institution in society.

Why is it called a state?

State comes from the Latin status, meaning “condition of a country.” Interestingly, even before the Revolutionary War, Britain called the American colonies states. The “States” still refers to America, but state can refer to any country’s civil government.