Q. Which one of the following best defines the term “State”?

A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government.
A politically organized people of a definite territory and possessing an authority to govern them, maintain law and order, protect their natural rights and safeguard their means of sustenance.
A number of persons who have been living in a definite territory for a very long time with their own culture, tradition and government.
A society permanently living in a definite with a central authority, an executive responsible to the central authority and an independent judiciary.

Answer: (a) A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government.

Notes:

The modern term “state” is derived from the word “status”. The state is the most universal and most powerful of all social institutions. The state is a natural institution.
According to Max Weber, a State is a human community that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory. It alone has the prerogative of making laws. The lawmaking power derives from sovereignty, which is the most distinctive characteristic of the State. The state possesses a government that has the authority to enforce a system of rules over the people living inside it. That system of rules is commonly composed of a constitution, statutes, regulations, and common law.
The State may be said to consist of four elements namely;
- Population,
- Territory,
- Government,
- Sovereignty