Defining the State: Ethical, Sociological, and Legal Perspectives

Ethical Definitions of the State

The State is characterized by its aim to comply with specific values. In the classical tradition, the State is directed and justified by the idea of the Common Good. Below are two definitions from different authors that reflect an eschatological vision of the State:

• Hauriou: The State is the "scheme adopted by a nation with legal and political centralization, achieved through the action of political power and the idea of res publica as a set of means organized for the common good."
• Lucas Verdú: A "territorial society legally organized, with sovereign power, which pursues the general welfare."

Sociological Definitions

The fundamental reference here is not the end goal, but the phenomenon of power itself. The substance of the State is a structure of domination that secures citizen obedience. It focuses on what the State is, rather than what it should be:

• Heller: "A domain structure permanently renewed through a common act representatively updated, ultimately ordering social events within a given territory."
• Max Weber: "The modern state is an institutional domain that, within a specific territory, seeks to monopolize legitimate physical coercion as an instrument of domination. To that end, it has gathered material means of management in the hands of its leaders, having expropriated those who previously possessed them."

Legal Definitions

These definitions focus on legal-formal structures, analyzing political reality in strictly legal terms. The most prominent figure of this formalist tendency is Hans Kelsen:

For Kelsen, the State is synonymous with the legal system, which is based on a hypothetical fundamental norm. There is a complete identification between the State and the law; the State is defined by the set of rules that are valid and effectively enforced. Consequently, citizens are legal subjects, and the territory represents the spatial domain of the legal order's validity.

Synthesis and Definition

A comprehensive definition must integrate descriptive, teleological, and legal aspects. From a descriptive point of view, the State is a method of organizing power where sovereignty is defined as supreme, independent authority over a settled territory. From a legal standpoint, the State pursues a teleological purpose through the rule of law.

Conclusion: The State is defined as "a set of political, legal, and administrative jurisdictions over the entire population of a territory bounded by borders" (Dictionary of History, Anaya, Madrid 1966).