Thursday, March 26, 2015

Make up Post-To strengthen a State or Government?

Being an abstract concept, the term “state” creates a lot of ambiguity regarding its scope. The state is a fundamental structure in an organized political community that incorporates territory, sovereignty, the entire citizen body and all public institutions that regulate a nation. The government is rather a narrower definition of certain state institutions in the public realm, namely, the executive, legislatures, and judiciaries. Government hence, is responsible for formulating policies, implementing those policies, and providing people justice based on those policies.  The state is a permanent structure whereas governments are temporary arrangements that are altered and replaced frequently. In theory, the state is a politically neutral identity established for the common good whereas governments manifest the prejudices of the ruling parties. The state is a territorial association that implements legitimation and eventually, acts as a tool of domination over all people and institutions present within geographically defined boundaries. Whereas, government is only a system which governs the state.

Despite my previous believe that electing a capable government should be primary objective, now I believe that development of state is a greater priority. The life time of a government is usually more or less 5 years. With such a short life span, how can one wish to develop the government rather than the state? Because even if the most efficient government comes to power, one effective government is insufficient to turn the tables of success for any country. Therefore, the effectiveness of reconstructing an efficient state structure is evident in the fact that if a system that aids progress in the long run is developed, the nation is bound to prosper regardless of which government is in power because the nature of the structure will provide continuous guidance. The foundations of the state are permanent and therefore, need to be buttressed in such a way that the state’s mechanism operates perfectly regardless of the ruling party. If there are efficient state institutions and system, then the outcome shall be positive in the long run regardless of what government is in power.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I agree to what you have written. But i think it's not possible to think of a state and it's government as separate entities as both of these are quite interlinked and interdependent. One cannot progress without focusing on the other. But as we already know that a state is a more permanent entity, hence you do have a point in asserting the fact that more focus should be kept on strengthening the state's structure because then any form of government would move towards progress.