GENERAL

What is a state?

 - It is a governing body
 - a population under one government
 - the administration of a certain land area.
 - Somehwat by contrast, a nation is a set of territories,
   sometimes called states, which govern themselves.
 - The nation, then, is is larger than a specific state, but usually one also calls it a state. The difference to watch for is that both a nation and a state may have internal and external policies; a nation usually has both, a state may not. Both a state and a nation may be caught up in nationalism. In the recent period, a common language is used throughout many states and nations. A nation usually also has a certain style and group-thinking.
 - The term country is less specific than nation or state. When used, it refers often to the land and not the people on that land.
 - Gesellschaft--a German word meaning a (large) collection of people who have certain things in common. It is a word used by sociologists worldwide to describe commonalities of people living in a nation.
 - Gemeinschaft--a German word, too, which indicates a group of people which has many things in common; it is a more closely knit group than that encompassed by a Gesellschaft.
 - Gemeinde--one more German word. It means community, in the sense both of a village, town and a group of people who have many things in common.

What are the differences between a state and nation?

  - several states combined may equal a nation
  - states have been around from earliest times.
  - "Nation" is a relatively new term. In one way it has
    only been around since the eighteenth century. It comes
    from the Latin word "nascere," "to be born" and implies
    nationalism.

What are (usually common) components of a state?

  -The people
  -the land
  -trade
  -currency  (Yen, D-Marks, Dollars)
  -resources (coal, iron, steel, etc.)
  -religion  (Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism)
  -governing style (presidential democracy, parliamentary
         democracy, monarchy)
  -taxes
  -a judicial system (written or unwritten, courts)
  -police
  -army
  -transportation
  -communication.

DETAILS ABOUT STATES/NATIONS

What are similarities of states and corporations?

  - The territory or market
  - top figures
  - bureaucracatic/hierarchical behavior
  - power struggles, the money/finances needed to run them
  - the brain power that is or is not available.

What are differences of corporation and state?

 - the corporation has no military and it can be
   international
 - the corporation usually sells products and a state
   usually is designed to be a set of peple run by one
   government.

How does a nation begin?

  - as an individual's idea, leading usually to a dynasty
  - a certain set of people's need for protection
  - as a city
  - as a religious group
  - during a revolution
  - several states uniting.

What is needed for the establishment of a nation?

  (In answering, it helps to think of the establishment of
  the U.S.A. and Bangladesh.)
  - land (country)
  - people
  - water, food, and other resources (i.e., possibility of
    establishing a flourishing economy)
  - often a common religion, which can lead to some common
    ideals
  - a concensus by a group of people to be governed a
    certain way (otherwise they will elimate the leader or
    change their form of government)
  - a government.

What are some characteristics of a nation/state?

 (It helps to think of an example like France.)
 - common language--French
 - common religion--Roman Cathololicism
 - food--French cuisine
 - clothing
 - culture--highly verbal
 - traditions
 - pride (which takes a long time to build up).
 

What kind of organizational structures are needed to have a state?

  - some well educated people--future leaders
  - popular support--at least 45% of people
  - military support
  - an administration--a bureaucracy, law and order,
    routines
  - resources
  - wealth--personal, inherited, or taxed (the latter
    usually necessary at some time)
  - a constitution--written or unwritten
  - alliances--to establish and maintain trade and
    to defend against enemies.

What ways can be used to increase resources and wealth?

  - establish commerce and trade
  - find rare materials for trade
  - promote material wealth--tax relief, tariff
    barriers, find new markets.

   Usually, the landowners are the first people to gain control when a state forms. The state needs land for food and resources and this need has often meant wealth and political power for landowners.
   Other people, that is, those without wealth and/or political access, who might seek control of a state, often were persons who had a program for power that would accomplish certain specific goals.
   A different sort of people were those who wanted power just for the sake of power.

  The most important assets of landowners are
  - land, which may have been obtained through inheritance,
    conquest, purchase, settlement, marriage, and exchange
  - a sturdy, hard-working, resourceful, and fairly uniform
    population with a variety of skills to settle and work
    the land
  - natural boundaries even though some are seen as
    fictitous today (examples-rivers, mountains, oceans,
    deserts, swamps)
  - military alliances in order to be able to keep the land.

DETAILS ABOUT HISTORICAL GIVENS

Who were some of the people who either created or reshaped states?

 - Ivan III of Russia, 1462-1505
 - Louis XIV, 1661-1715
 - Peter I (the Great), 1682-1725
 - Frederick II, 1740-1786
 - Bismarck--politician not monarch, 1870-1880
 - Cavour--politician not monarch, 1850-1860.

Who were some of the persons who designed contract theories of government?

 - T. Hobbes
 - J. Locke
 - J. J. Rousseau

   In most such theories, people, supposedly a long time ago, contracted with a king for a certain kind of government. In the contract, he supplied the protection and they submitted their individual wills to gain it. In return for this "submission" of the public, the king was to represent the public's wishes for security and wellbeing. In many theories, the king who became a tyrant could be killed. However, it is almost always difficult to determine when a king (president) is or has become a tyrant.

A specific example of a state builder:

    Louis XIV
    Louis was born into an interesting situation. His mother and father had not had too many sexual encounters. While on a picnic one day, it started raining and King Louis XIII and his Queen were put into a hay stack to keep from getting wet. Nine months later, Louis was born. They gave him the name Louis and called him "dieu donne," "God given."
Once Louis was old enough, his mother's advisor, Mazarin, began to take him to state council meetings. At first, the topics were easy, and young Louis became confident about knowing matters of national concern. Later, the meetings became more complicated, but he was still given the impression that these difficult issues could be resolved. Only much later, was he allowed to attend meetings in which unresolvable issues were taken up. By attending these meetings, Louis gained first-hand experience with governing,
but this did not mean he was an expert on all the issues.       Louis ruled from 1661-1715.
  Some of the things he did are:
    He said that he was going to be his own king.
    He would make his own decisions and would be
    in charge - Richelieu, advisor to his father,
    was one of the best statesmen, but Louis did
    not want anyone even of that caliber at his side.

    He quickly brought together a team that he could trust -      he wanted people who were trustworthy, loyal, and who
    would make him successful.
    But first he had to get rid of the old group of advisers. He needed experts because of his own limited       education. He had to make sure he would not be overthrown.

Some of the fields represented and their advisors:
  - economic and public relations--Colbert
  - military--Vauban
Most of Louis' first men in government died in the
1680s, twenty years after he had attained power, and he
could never replace them. To make matters worse,
he became over-confident and tried to run the government completely on his own.

Here are some characteristics of Louis XIV in his state building activities:
* He gave up private life to become a public figure:
  - in order to set an example
  - to promote an image
  - to be seen with constant power
  - to impress upon his nobles how present he was.
* He considered himself an absolute monarch:
  - what he said was law because he was above the law
  - he made the law
  - he was the symbol of state
  - but privately he believed himself to be the first
    servant of the state.
* Yet there were restraints to his power:
  - ups and downs of life, and death
  - public opinion
  - rebellion
  - church opinion
  - his own Catholicism
  - threat from people who agreed with him;
    these people did not bring new ideas or arguments
    because of potential disfavor from the king
  - not enough experience and common sense to control all
    aspects of the state
  - transportation and communication - e.g., slowness in
    battle, i.e., moving troops from one place to another

* Louis XIV had to sell himself to the public, especially
   as taxes grew; the public became less satisfied,
   and he had to work to overcome hostilities toward him.
      Listed below are some of the ways he accomplished this
      sales job:
    - he told people that he needed the strong army to keep
      their land
    - he wrote letters to his men and others to make them
      feel good
    - he made Frenchmen feel that they were part of the most
      civilized and important culture in the world
    - he built a palace at Versailles to show how important
      he and they were
    - he made everyone think there was only one person
      who knew what was going on...Louis, the "Sun King."
    An example of this approach is this:
       In his bedroom he had a sun behind his headboard.
       His bed was on a platform with a rail in
       front of it. Of course, all of these touches
       resemble the altar in a Catholic Church.

* Louis had profound worries about other countries.
   He wanted alliances with other countries for protection.
   He wanted an alliance with Spain because it was nearby
   and strong. He married a Spanish princess, so his
   own son would be Spanish and French and might have
   power in Spain and France.
      One of Louis' other goals was to expand his
   territories northward and eastward. In his drive
   northward he ran into Spain, i.e., the Spanish
   Netherlands, and in his drive eastward, he ran up against
   the Holy Roman Empire. Although he was reasonably
   successful in the  consequent Wars of Devolution, many of
   his gains were shattered when he tried to put his
   grandson on the Spanish throne in 1700.
      All along he had needed a strong army to
   accomplish these exploits. It rose to 200,000 men,
   but such a force was very expensive. His military's needs
   included weapons, food, shelter, clothing. These
   requirements cost immense sums of money and France paid
   for them through taxes. Among them were:
    - taxes on land--lower class: 90% of the population -
    - no taxes on nobles, the church, and soldiers
    - Roman Catholic church--contributions were asked for
      but...
    - luxury items--salt, tobacco, alcohol, etc.
    - import tariffs.
  Despite all sorts of taxes, by 1715 France was in more
  debt than ever before and could not recover until after
  the Revolution.

Specific example of state building (corporation building)

   Suppose we were called upon to organize a state.
   The name of this state is Franklin, and it is located in Western N.C. and also contains areas on the borders of West Virginia and Tennessee.

   What steps will be required to organize this State of
   Franklin?

First, we must set goals, and design a specific sequence to attain them so we will not start an uproar within the area. The following steps may best fit our needs:
 - let people in the area know what type of government is
   being set up
 - gather public support
 - establish boundaries carefully
 - gather a team
    The following is a list of people to help run
    Franklin:
     *President
     *Vice President
     *Foreign policy/military/security expert
     *Financial advisor/economist
     *Lawyer
     *Speech writer/PR specialist
     *Computer expert
     *Social service specialist
     *Ecologist/geologist
     *Regional representative
     *Minister/priest
     *Ordinary person (blue-collar type)

    These people should preferably be friends of the leader.

    Sequence of steps to consolidate Franklin:
    *Select representatives to other states.
     It may be useful to have an alliance with
     at least two of the neighboring states,
     so Franklin does not get attacked and has good
     commercial relationships.
    *Write and publish a constitution.
    *Establish laws.
    *Start cash flow. The public will not go for taxes until
     they are represented; as soon as the legal bodies are
     in place, start taxation.

Unfortunately, some problems will probably arise which must be handled quickly.

- One of the first problems will be trading. The Mississippi River runs through Franklin, so water transport can be set up. We will also need a railroad system, and some major highways. If we have a non-negotiable partner, we will probably have to find out one of his needs and then make a deal with him.
- Since the main resource in Franklin is coal, we must be sure that it is managed well and for the safety and environmental benefit of the Frankliners. Keep in mind that coal is a source for foreign exchange. Yet make sure also that it remains in demand with Franklin's citizens by having them use it.

By now, Franklin should be off to a good start.
With continued careful planning, a good government, the right decisions, and a lot of luck, it should be a very successful state.
 

IMPORTANT TERMS
 

NOTES