Theories of state

Theoretical overview

Divine Theory

Divine theory was the oldest theory regarding the origin of state. According to this theory the state is established by god himself . The god have created everything hence society is being created by law. The god have sent king to serve the people( welfare of people) and he gets power directly from the god and he is accountable to the god, By this theory the state is the creation of the god just as god has created the human being the king is the native of god. The king is supreme he is above the law what he say is the law. This theory supports the monarchy in a way which can be justified by the statement that, even if the king is wicked, it means God has sent him as a punishment for people‘s sins and it is unlawful to shake off the burden which God has laid upon them. Patience, earnest prayer and amendments of their lives are the only lawful means to move God to relieve them of that heavy curse. The divine origin theory of the state believes that, a bad king will be judged by God only not by his subjects or by any human agency for enforcing the law, such as the estates or the courts.

Features of divine theory:

• The king was given political power by god– Whatever king do, he is authorized to exercised that by the God himself. King has got his powers to rule the state directly by God and no one can put any check on his powers. 
• Kingship is hereditary– It means that, king will be king for life and after his death his son/successor will be the next king. 
• The king is great source of wisdom and is responsible to god only– As the king is representative of God on earth, he is full of wisdom and he is answerable to God only.
• It is a sin to disobey the king– King is the breathing image of God on the earth and as he representing the God, disobeying him will be considered as sin because disobey king means to disobey God.
• A bad king will be judged by the god but not by his subjects and by any human agency– If the king is doing anything wrong or using his powers in wrong way or his actions are against the welfare of the state and people, he can only be judged by the god and not by people or any human law making agency.

Criticism of the Theory:

• This theory is against democracy because the democracy is in present times considered as the most appropriate system of ruling the state and this theory denies the fundamental principle of the democracy i.e. general will. 
• It is far from reality as in contemporary states, governments working on the basis of coordination between organs of the governments and divine theory establish the supremacy of the king. 
• It is not suitable to the modern democratic states where people elect the rulers and the source of authority is general will.
• It does not give right to the people to change the rulers. It establishes the belief that once a king always a king and people have to tolerate and cannot change him. 
• There is no historical evidence to prove that the state is created by the divine power. It is a religious theory without any base.

Force theory

According to force theory state is being created through force which is being used by the superior people of the society on inferior people of society. To safe the weaker people, people gathered together and form a society. The state is born out of force. Exist in force and die in the absence of force. According to Bluntschli, force is an indispensable element of the organisation of the state . In the two world wars, Great Britain defended its territory against the Nazi forces only with the military power. Further, the Russian military power stopped the aggression of the German forces.

The exponents of this theory hold that wars and aggressions by some powerful tribe were the principal factors in the creation of the state. They rely on the oft-quoted saying “war begot the King” as the historical explanation of the origin of the state. A man physically stronger established his authority over the less strong persons. The strongest person in a tribe is, therefore, made the chief or leader of that tribe. After establishing the state by subjugating the other people in that place the chief used his authority in maintaining law and order and defending the state from the aggression from outside. Thus force was responsible not only for the origin of the state but for development of the state also. As the state increased in population and size there was a concomitant improvement in the art of warfare. The small states fought among themselves and the successful ones made big states.

The kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark arc historical examples of the creation of states by the use of force.

Features of Force theory:

• It is created by force which is created by superior people on inferior people.
• To safe the weaker people, people gathered together and form a society.
• A man physically stronger established his authority over the less strong persons.
• place the chief used his authority in maintaining law and order and defending the state from the aggression from outside.
• The small states fought among themselves and the successful ones made big states.

Criticism of the Theory:

• In the first place, the element of force is not the only factor in the origin of the state; religion, politics, family and process of evolution are behind the foundation of the state.
• A state may be created by force temporarily. But to perpetuate it something more is essential
• the theory of force is inconsistent with individual liberty.

The evolutionary theory

The evolutionary theory regarding the origin of the state was neither created by God nor by force. It was not the outcome of a social or political contract. It has grown gradually and many factors have played their part in its evolution. This is the most acceptable theory of the origin of the state. According to this theory state was a historical growth. The state is a growth and not an artificial product. Dr. Garner said, ―the state I neither the handiwork of God, nor the result of superior physical force, nor the creation of convention or a contract, nor a mere expansion of family.‖ It is an institution of natural growth. The state is a growth and evolution and not an artificial product. According to Dr. Leacock, the state is ―The result of a gradual process running throughout all the known history of man and receding in to the remote and unknown past. As the state is an outcome of a slow and gradual process running throughout the history and every outcome carries some factors/ reason behind, there are many factors which played important roles in the origin of the state. The following factors contributed to the origin of the state:

• Kinship- By kinship is meant blood relationship. Kinship creates society and society at length creates the states. The family serves as the prototype of the state. It is admitted by all that the family was the unit of society at the beginning. With the passage of time, the family expanded into clans, clans into tribes and ultimately the state came into existence. 
• Religion- Kinship and religion was the two aspect of the same theory. The people who were bound by the bonds of blood were also brought together by the bonds of religion. It colured every act of human life. The worship of a common ancestor and common gods created a sense of social solidarity. The influence of the priest class over the government and politics stayed powerful throughout the history. Even now religion plays an important part in various parts of the globe. The base of the creation of Pakistan was Islam. Religion is an integral part of human life which cannot be taken away. 
• War or force – It has played an important part in the origin of the state. War got the king. A sense of loyalty to the ruler was also established. Struggle and warfare are the historical and most important element of the origin of the sate in historical concept. 
• Property or economy- Economic system is the key to social behavior. Economy is, at present, playing an important part in almost every sector of the human life and is an important determinant of the contemporary human relationship and behavior. Protection of property is also a matter of concern because property brings a sense of security of future and also the stability in human lives. 
• Political consciousness – Political consciousness among the people also brought them together. When primitive people gave up hunting and wandering habits and took to pastoral and agricultural life, many changes took place. Population began to multiply. The concept of property and idea of protection arrived. All this made them feel the requirement of some organization which could give them order and protection and due to that state came into existence.

Organic theory

the state’s organismic theory represents the antithesis of the juridical theory, which, at least in the minds of some of its supporters, conceives the state to be a legal fiction or a purely mental concept of the jurists. The organismic-theory goes to the other extreme and pictures the state as a real person, a living organism possessing organs that perform functions analogous to animals or plants. It is a biological conception which describes the state in terms of natural science, views the individuals who compose it as analogous to the cells of a plant or animal, and postulates a relation of interdependence between them and society such as exists between the organs and parts a biological organism and the whole structure.

Idealist theory

Idealism is an old theory. Its origin can be traced to Plato and Aristotle. Plato presented an ‘ideal’ State in his famous book “The Republic”. Both Plato and Aristotle regarded the State to be self-sufficing and held that in the State alone the individual reaches his highest development. The Idealists regard the State as an end in itself and the individual as a means to the end. Hegel declared that the State is a “perfected rationality” and an “absolute fixed end in itself. It is only in the State that the individual can be at his best, and raise his outward self to the level of his inward self. Out of the State, the individual is nothing, and against it he has no rights.   

Criticism:

• An abstract theory. It is said that it is an abstract theory. It describes a State which does not exist anywhere in the world.
• idealist theory denies the rights of the individual It is not true to say that the individual has no value or life is a part from that of the State.

Theory of social contract

The concept of social contract theory is that in the beginning man lived in the state of nature. They had no government and there was no law to regulate them. There were hardships and oppression on the sections of the society. To overcome from these hardships they entered into two agreements which are:- 

1.“Pactum Unionis”; and 2.“Pactum Subjectionis”.

 By the first pact of unionis, people sought protection of their lives and property. As, a result of it a society was formed where people undertook to respect each other and live in peace and harmony. By the second pact of subjectionis, people united together and pledged to obey an authority and surrendered the whole or part of their freedom and rights to an authority. The authority guaranteed everyone protection of life, property and to a certain extent liberty. Thus, they must agree to establish society by collectively and reciprocally renouncing the rights they had against one another in the State of Nature and they must imbue some one person or assembly of persons with the authority and power to enforce the initial contract. In other words, to ensure their escape from the State of Nature, they must both agree to live together under common laws, and create an enforcement mechanism for the social contract and the laws that constitute it. Thus, the authority or the government or the sovereign or the state came into being because of the two agreement.

Kautilya saptang theory

there are seven organ of state a/c to kautilya saptang theory

1. Swami (king): the king was the head of the civil, judicial and ministry. He appointed all the main officers. It was responsibility of king to provide social security to minority, the sick, the aged and unemployed. He should be native of land. King made the rule which have to follow by people living the society.
2. Amatya (ministers) : it is refers to council of minister as well as the supporting minister. they helps king in day to day affairs of state they give suggestion to king regarding taxis , developing new village and cities. They also insure defence of the state. Amatya must be pure, honest in financial matters and of good character. Prime minister and high priest were the main minister. In emergency kautilya asked the king to consult the members of council of minister.
3. Janpad (territory & people)  people should be loyal towards the king they should pay tax on time. The territory of state should be fertile ,territory should be free from wild beast. The land should be water by river and there should be suitable place for establishment of village and city. Janpad should be provided by all the means of communication. The king has to protect the land and people both from the external aggression.
4. Durg (fort): It refers to forts. The state should have sufficient number of forts across its territory at strategic locations for ensuring defence against foreign invasions. Forts should be built near hills/mountains, deserts, dense forests and big water bodies. They garrison soldiers, store food grains for emergency and also serve as a hideout for the king when his life in danger.
5. Dand (army): It refers to military. The state should have a regular, large, disciplined and well trained military. It is crucial for the security of the state. The soldiers should be recruited from those families which are traditionally associated with military. The soldiers should paid well and their families should be taken care of in most suitable way. Proper training and equipment should be made available. Well-fed and well trained soldiers can win any battle. The king should take care of the soldiers and the soldiers will be ready to sacrifice even their life for him.
6. Kosh (treasury) : This means treasury of the state. Finance is life blood of any state without which it is almost impossible to run it. Money is needed for paying salaries, building new infrastructure, etc. The treasury should be full of money and valuable metals and gems. It can be increased through taxation and plundering enemy states in war.
7. Mitr( foreign relation): It refers to friends of the king. The monarch should maintain friendly relationship with traditional friends of his forefathers. He should also make new friendships. He should send gifts and other pleasantries for his friends. They should be helped in times of emergency. They should be loyal. Friends add to the power of the state. They are also important from foreign trade view point.

Islamic theory of state

concept of Islamic state was based on the following principle :

• Sovereignty of Allah 
• Khilafat
• Government of consultation
• Equality of all man kind
• Payment of zakat

Points to remember

• divine theory was the oldest theory regarding the origin of state.
• According to divine theory the state is established by god himself.
• According to force theory state is being created through force which is being used by the superior people of the society on inferior people of society.
• The evolutionary theory regarding the origin of the state was neither created by God nor by force. It was not the outcome of a social or political contract.
• . The organismic-theory goes to the other extreme and pictures the state as a real person, a living organism possessing organs that perform functions analogous to animals or plants.
• Idealism is an old theory. Its origin can be traced to Plato and Aristotle. Plato presented an ‘ideal’ State in his famous book “The Republic”. Both Plato and Aristotle regarded the State to be self-sufficing and held that in the State alone the individual reaches his highest development.
• The concept of social contract theory is that in the beginning man lived in the state of nature. They had no government and there was no law to regulate them