Defining States: Reconsiderations and Recommendations

Abstract

This article focuses on the definition of states-an issue that has been a central concern for the Correlates of War Project in particular and international relations in general. The paper argues that we need to move away from the crude dichotomous conceptualization of state system membership, which is far too simple and rigid, to the conceptualization of state membership as a continuous attribute. Two underlying dimensions of stateness are suggested. The first refers to the internal organization of the geopolitical units (GPUs) and focuses on the size, autonomy and cohesion (SAC Index) of the GPU, while the second reflects the way in which a GPU relates to other GPUs and concentrates on interdependence, interaction and recognition (IIR Index). Conceptualizing "stateness" in this way represents a richer and more sophisticated theoretical approach.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bennett, Robert W. and Joseph Zitomersky . 1982. "The Delimitation of Intemational Diplomatic Systems: 1816-1970." In On Making Use of History , Joseph Zitomersky (ed.). Esselte Studium: Lund, Sweden.

Bierstedt, Robert. 1970. The Social Order. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill .

Bremer, Stuart A. 1995. "Advancing the Scientific Study of War." In The Process of War, Stuart A. Bremer and Thomas R. Cusack (eds.). Luxembourg: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers .

Clodfelter, Michael. 2002. Warfare and Armed Conflicts. 2nd edition Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company,

Deutsch, Karl. 1961. "Social Mobilization and Political Development ," American Political Science Review 55: 495-514.

Fazal, Tanisha M. 2001. Born to Lose and Doomed to Survive: State Death and Survival in the International System. Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University .

Gleditsch, Kristian S. and Michael D. Ward . 1999. "A Revised List of Independent States Since the Congress of Vienna," International Interactions 25: 393-413.

Hall, John A. 2001. "State." In The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World, Joel Krieger (ed.), 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Holsti, Kalevi J. 1996. The State, War, and the State of War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

10.

Holzman, David. 2002. "Is Pluto a Planet?" Smithsonian 32: 68-74.

11.

Johnson, Allen and Timothy Earle. 1987. Evolution of Human Societies. Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press .

12.

Kaldor, Mary. 1999. New and Old Wars. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

13.

Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler . 2001. Standard Catalog of World Coins 1801-1900. 3rd edition Iola, WI: Krause Publications.

14.

Manton, Kenneth G. , Max A. Woodbury and H. Dennis Tolley . 1994. Statistical Applications Using Fuzzy Sets. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

15.

Palmer, Glenn and Stuart A. Bremer . 2002. "Non-State Actors and Interstate War: Coding Procedures for Identifying Armed Political Action Groups." Paper presented at the 2002 Peace Science Society meeting, Tucson, Arizona, Nov. 1-3, 2002.

16.

Rasler, Karen A. and William R. Thompson . 1989. War and State Making. Boston: Unwin Hyman.

17.

Russett, Bruce M. , J. David Singer and Melvin Small. 1968. "National Political Units in the Twentieth Century: A Standardized List," The American Political Science Review 62: 932-951.

18.

Singer, J. David and Melvin Small. 1972. The Wages of War. New York: Wiley.

19.

Small, Melvin and J. David Singer . 1980. Resort to Arms. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

20.

Weber, Max. 1946. "Politics as a Vocation." In From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, H. H. Gerth and Wright Mills (eds.). Oxford : Oxford University Press.