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A state is an organized political community living under a single system of government. Speakers of American English often use ''state'' and ''government'' as synonyms,〔The two are especially synonymous when phrased as "the state" and "the government." See "government" under List of words having different meanings in American and British English: A–L.〕 with both words referring to an organized political group that exercises authority over a particular territory. States may or may not be sovereign. For instance, federated states that are members of a federal union have only partial sovereignty, but are, nonetheless, states.〔 Some states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony where ultimate sovereignty lies in another state.〔For example the Vichy France (1940-1944) officially referred to itself as ''l'État français'' (the French state).〕 The term "state" can also refer to the secular branches of government within a state,〔https://mises.org/pdf/anatomy.pdf〕 often as a manner of contrasting them with churches and civilian institutions. Many human societies have been governed by states for millennia, but many have been stateless societies. The first states arose about 5,500 years ago in conjunction with the rapid growth of urban centers, the invention of writing, and the codification of new forms of religion. Over time a variety of different forms developed, employing a variety of justifications for their existence (such as divine right, the theory of the social contract, etc.). In the 21st century the modern nation-state is the predominant form of state to which people are subject. ==Definitional issues== There is no academic consensus on the most appropriate definition of the state.〔Cudworth et al., 2007: p. 1〕 The term "state" refers to a set of different, but interrelated and often overlapping, theories about a certain range of political phenomena.〔Barrow, 1993: pp. 9-10〕 The act of defining the term can be seen as part of an ideological conflict, because different definitions lead to different theories of state function, and as a result validate different political strategies.〔Barrow, 1993: pp. 10-11〕 And according to Jeffrey and Painter, "if we define the 'essence' of the state in one place or era, we are liable to find that in another time or space something which is also understood to be a state has different 'essential' characteristics" The most commonly used definition is Max Weber's, which describes the state as a compulsory political organization with a centralized government that maintains a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a certain territory.〔Cudworth et al., 2007: p. 95〕〔Salmon, 2008: (p. 54 )〕 General categories of state institutions include administrative bureaucracies, legal systems, and military or religious organizations. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', a state is "a. an organized political community under one government; a commonwealth; a nation. b. such a community forming part of a federal republic, esp the United States of America". Confounding the definitional problem is that "state" and "government" are often used as synonyms in common conversation and even some academic discourse. According to this definitional schema, the states are nonphysical persons of international law, governments are organizations of people.〔Robinson, E. H. 2013. (The Distinction Between State and Government ). ''The Geography Compass'' 7(8): pp. 556-566.〕 The relationship between a government and its state is one of representation and authorized agency.〔Crawford, J. (2007) ''The Creation of States in International Law''. Oxford University Press.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「State (polity)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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