WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE STATE? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The most important elements of the state are the population, territory, government and sovereignty. The State is a form of social organization endowed with sovereignty, which is the supreme power that resides in citizens.

The word State is often confused with government. However, it must be clarified that the government is simply an element of the State. Added to this, governments are not permanent (they last 5 or 10 years at most) while the state exists even after the government has ended.

Another necessary clarification is that the State is not synonymous with the nation, since the latter form of organization lacks political power. Every State must have four basic elements: a population, a territory, a government and national sovereignty.

The State needs (a) a population that grants it sovereignty, (b) a territory in which to operate, (c) a government through which to exercise and (d) the power to exercise its authority.

Main elements of the state

1- Population

The State is a human institution, which means that it is made up of people. What is more, a state is a community of individuals. This means that without population there can be no State.

According to Aristotle, the number of members of a population should not be too large or too small. In any case, it must be large enough so that the state can be self-sufficient and small enough that it can be governed.

The population of modern states varies from nation to nation. For example, Switzerland and Canada have relatively small populations, while China and India have large populations.

People who live within the boundaries of a state are called "citizens." These are conferred a series of rights by their quality of citizens, such as freedom, right to education, among others.

In return, the State asks citizens to carry out certain actions, called duties.

People from one State who live within the territory of another State other than their own are called “foreigners”.

These people enjoy a number of rights (not as many as citizens) and are subject to multiple duties. Foreigners can opt for state citizenship by following the policies of the state.

2- Territory

The territory is the physical space in which the State develops. The State cannot exist in the air or in the sea, but there must be a terrestrial space in which it can develop.

The extent of the territory varies from one nation to another. There are States with a fairly wide territorial extension, such as Russia, India, China, Canada, the United States and Brazil.

Similarly, there are other states with reduced territories, such as Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Luxembourg, the Vatican State, among others.

What really matters is not the extension of the territory but the delimitation of it. This means that the State must develop in a defined terrestrial space, separated from other States by clear and precise limits.

The territory of a State may include islands. For example, the territory of South Korea includes Jeju Island.

It should be noted that the territory of a State not only includes the solid terrain, but also includes the air space above this terrain, the bodies of water that are within its limits (rivers, lakes, internal seas, among others).

In the same way, the coastal zone (if there is one) belongs to the State. Likewise, there is the notion of territorial waters, which means that the sovereignty of a State extends beyond its coasts, over the sea.

In the same way, the State has sovereignty over the continental shelf, which is the part of the territory that is under water.

3- Government

The government is the political organization of a state. This is the element through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and specified.

The government is made up of a series of institutions that give the State the authority to administer matters that concern it, such as the administration of wealth, the optimization of services (education, health, protection), among others.

In this sense, the State exercises its sovereignty through government bodies. The division of the organs of government may vary from one State to another. However, the classic division includes three powers: legislative, executive, and judicial.

- The legislative power is in charge of formulating the laws that regulate the actions of the government and citizens within the State.

- The executive is the body in charge of enforcing the law and ensuring that these are complied with by citizens and foreigners within the national territory.

- The judiciary is the body in charge of punishing those who have not complied with the laws.

4- Sovereignty

The term "sovereignty" comes from the Latin word superanus, which means "supreme." In this order of ideas, sovereignty is the supreme power: no other power surpasses sovereignty.

This means that sovereignty is the true power of the State, which allows it to command, govern and ensure the obedience of the people within the limits of its territory.

Sovereignty comes from the people, who grant it to the leaders (president, prime minister, governors, mayors, among others) through suffrage.

Harold J. Laski points out that the fact that the state is sovereign is what differentiates it from any other form of human organization. Some organizations may have the first three elements, but without the fourth one cannot speak of a State.

According to Jean Bodin, a French politician, sovereignty has two aspects: one internal and one external.

- Internal sovereignty means that the State has supreme power over all its citizens and associations.

- External sovereignty means that the State is independent, so it has the right not to be intervened by other States. Likewise, external sovereignty involves the ability of the State to establish relations with other States.

Mexico as a state

1- Population

The population of Mexico according to the census carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), amounted to almost 130 million inhabitants in 2015.

Most of the population of Mexico is located in the State of Mexico. There are approximately 15 million inhabitants, divided proportionally between men and women (7.3 million men and 7.7 million women).

Based on the studies carried out by INEGI between the years 2005 and 2011, the Mexican population has a tendency to grow by 1.6% each year (INEGI, 2015).

INEGI also indicates that most of the Mexican population is Catholic, comprising 89.3% of the inhabitants of the territory.

2- Territory

The Mexican territory is made up of both a continental area and a maritime area.

The continental area is the part of the territory of Mexico that is within the American Continent, more specifically, north of it.

This also includes the surface of the islands located within the maritime area that belongs to the country. In total it occupies an area of ​​1,947,156 km²

The maritime area, for its part, is made up of the Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ, and the Territorial Sea. The Mexican maritime territory was defined through international treaties between the Central American states (Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba and Belize) and the United States. In total it occupies an area of ​​2,926,252 km².

The territory of Mexico is divided into a Federal District and 31 states. Within the 31 states, 17 have a coastline and 10 share a border with other states.

The territory of each state is subdivided into municipalities, whose size can range between 4 and 5,500 km² (El Territorial Mexicano, 2017).

3- Government

Mexico has a democratic and federal system of government, composed of a Supreme Power that in turn is divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

The legislative branch is responsible for producing laws. It is represented by the Congress of the Union, which in turn is made up of two chambers, that of Senators and that of Deputies.

The deputies are elected by popular vote and can remain in power for three years. They are also elected by popular vote and remain in power for six years. Senators are elected in pairs.

The executive power depends on the President of the Republic. He is elected every six years by popular vote. The President is the head of state, and must be in charge of carrying out all the relevant government steps, without violating the laws endorsed by the legislative power.

The President appoints his cabinet of collaborators, among whom are 18 secretaries of state and three attorneys. The secretaries are responsible for managing issues related to health, tourism, education, commerce, energy, ecology, among others.

The judiciary, for its part, is in charge of ensuring compliance with what is included in the Mexican constitution, without regard to race, sex, educational level, color, among others.

This branch of power is represented by the Supreme Court of Justice, the Tribunals and Courts (How is the Mexican territory organized?, 2017).

4- Sovereignty

The sovereignty of Mexico as a state is contemplated in articles 38, 40 and 41 of its political constitution. They establish that the sovereignty of the country resides in its people and that any benefit that is sought must positively affect it.

It is also pointed out that the people have the right to modify their form of government, and that it is their will to be constituted as a representative, federal, democratic Republic, composed of free and sovereign states (Justia México, 2017).

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