We live in a world of states.
But what exactly are they?
In this video I am going to look at the four key attributes of statehood.
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Welcome to Independent Thinking.
A channel dedicated to statehood, independence, and the origins of countries.
My name is James Ker-Lindsay.
We are all used to the idea of states.
They are the fundamental units of the modern international system.
However, while the concept of statehood has existed for many centuries, it may be surprising
to learn that the formal definition of a state is actually a relatively recent development.
It dates back less than ninety years.
The first formal definition of a state was set out in the Montevideo Convention on the
Rights and Duties of States, which was signed in 1933.
Although the Convention is now regarded as providing the key attributes of statehood
– and its criteria are even used by the UN when assessing a country for membership
- this was not its primary purpose.
It was instead meant to regulate relations between the countries of the Americas.
However, in order to do this, it first had to set out a clear definition
of what made a state.
It did so by outlining four necessary characteristics.
The first of these is a defined territory.
To be a state, you need to have land.
There is no such thing as a state without territory.
However, what this means in real terms is open to a huge amount of variation.
For example, there are no rules about the minimum or maximum size of a country.
At one end of the scale, the smallest of the 193 members of the United Nations is Monaco.
A tiny coastal state nestled into the south of France.
At the other of the scale, we have Russia.
The largest country in the world.
It is almost twice the size of the next largest country, Canada.
Likewise, countries come in all sorts of geographical forms.
A defined territory does not mean that all the bits of land need to be joined to one
another.
In fact, there are numerous countries that are made up of groups of islands, such as
Indonesia or the Philippines.
In other cases, parts of a single country may even be separated from one another by
another state.
Think of the United States and Alaska.
Some countries are even completely surrounded by another country, such as San Marino, which
is surrounded by Italy.
Crucially, the requirement for defined territory doesn’t even mean that a state has to have
precisely settled borders.
Countries have joined the UN even though their boundaries have been contested or were subject
to final demarcation.
The second key attribute is a settled population.
Just as a state needs land, it also needs inhabitants.
You cannot simply plant a flag on an empty piece of land and call it a country.
There needs to be people living there.
Here too, though, there are no prescribed rules.
On the one hand, we have India and China, both of which have over a billion inhabitants.
This contrasts with the Pacific island states of Tuvalu and Nauru, which both have a population
of just over 10,000 people.
In fact, there are around a dozen UN members with a population of over 100 million and
a similar number with a population of fewer than 100,000.
There are also vast differences in population densities.
For instance, the city-states of Monaco and Singapore are the most crowded countries on
earth with thousands of people crammed into each square kilometre or mile.
Meanwhile, the most sparsely populated countries are Australia and Mongolia, with fewer than
ten people in the same space.
The third key attribute is a government.
A state must have a formal administration of some sort in order to be considered a country.
Once again, there are vast differences in what this means in real terms.
In many advanced economies, the state has an extensive role and provides for a wide
range of societal needs.
In other countries, the structures of government may be minimal.
However, to be accepted as a state, a country needs to have some sort of competent authority
judged to be in charge of the state and can carry out the basic functions of administration.
Additionally, and equally importantly, it is also understood that the government in
question has to be truly independent.
In the past, countries have invaded and occupied another country and set up statelets that
were little more than proxies.
To this end, any new country must be seen to be able to exercise its sovereignty and
independence.
It cannot merely be a puppet administration of another country.
The fourth and final key attribute is the ability to enter into relations with other
states.
Interestingly, though, this is no longer regarded as being quite as significant as it once was.
In the 1930s, when the Montevideo Convention was signed, it was generally felt that only
states could really enter into relations with other states.
The world of the twenty-first century is very different indeed.
Now we see all sorts of bodies engaging with states.
For instance, we have major international organisations, such as the United Nations
and its various bodies, that interact with states.
So too do many humanitarian organisations, such as the International Committee of the
Red Cross.
Then there are major international sporting and cultural bodies.
Think of the International Olympic Committee or FIFA, the football world governing body.
We even have major corporations that have high level relations with states, such as
Google and Amazon.
In this sense, the requirement to be able to enter into relations with states is not
quite as important as it once was.
So, to be considered a state, you need to have the following four key attributes.
You need to have a defined territory.
You need to have a settled population.
You need to have an independent government.
And you need to be able to establish relations with other states.
If a territory can meet those four criteria, then it can be considered a state.
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