134 CHAPTER FivE ■ The STaTe
emerged from the post- Westphalian framework and developed in tandem with sov-
ereignty and the nation. Two of the theoretical perspectives— realism and liberalism—
acknowledge the primacy of the state. Yet despite this emphasis on the state, it is
inadequately conceptualized. As the scholar James Rosenau laments, “All too many
studies posit the state as a symbol without content, as an actor whose nature,
motives, and conduct are so self- evident as to obviate any need for precise concep-
tualizing. Often, in fact, the concept seems to be used as a residual category to
explain that which is other wise inexplicable in macro politics.”^1 We need to do bet-
ter. How do states behave in international relations, and why do they matter?
Learning ObjecTiveS■ Define the state, the major actor in international relations.
■ Explain how the vari ous theoretical perspectives view the state.
■ Describe how po liti cal scientists mea sure state power.
■ Explain the methods states use to exercise their power.
■ Analyze how democracies behave differently from nondemocracies.
■ Understand the models that help us explain how states make foreign
policy decisions.
■ Analyze the major con temporary challenges to the state.the state and the nation
For an entity to qualify as a state, it must meet four fundamental legal conditions,
as outlined in the 1933 Montevideo Convention. First, a state must have a territorial
base, with geo graph i cally defined bound aries. Second, a stable population must reside
within its borders. Third, this population should owe allegiance to an entity govern-
ment. Fi nally, other states must recognize this state diplomatically.
These legal criteria are not absolute; they are often subject to vari ous interpreta-
tions. Most states do have a territorial base, though the precise borders are often dis-
puted. Until the Palestinian Authority was given a mea sure of control over the West
Bank, for instance, Palestine was not territorially based. Also, it is not officially rec-