According to the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (1994), ‘The state is a distinct set of institutions that has the authority to make rules which govern society.’ These institutions, according to Miliband (1969), are the government, the administration (the civil service), the judiciary and parliamentary assemblies. State power lies in these institutions. Max Weber defined it as ‘the social insti¬tution that holds a monopoly over the use of force’. It has a ‘monopoly’ of legitimate violence ‘within a specific territory”. Hence, the state includes such institutions as the armed forces, civil service or bureaucracy, police, judiciary and local and national councils of elected representatives, such as parliament. Consequently, the state is not a unified entity. It is rather a set of institutions which describe the terrain and parameters for political conflicts between various interests over the use of resources and the direction of public policy. Sociologists have been particularly concerned with the state, but they have examined it in relation to society as a whole, rather than in isolation. Their main concern is the description analysis, and explanation of the state as an institution which claims a monopoly of the legitimate use of force within a given territory. What are the state’s interests or the boundaries of the state? It is very difficult to identify them clearly, since different parts of the state apparatus can have different interests and conflicting preferences. Because of this diffi¬culty, there are frequently conflicts between elected politicians and non-elected civil servants or the judiciary over policy and resources. Moreover, its boundaries have not been clearly defined and are constantly changing. It is here useful to bear in mind Althusser’s concept of state apparatuses. The capacity of the state to control the armed forces and police (repressive state apparatus) as well as the major means of communication, notably the media (the ideological state apparatus) is crucial to its power. Defining state, Anthony Giddens (1997) writes: ‘A state exists where there is a political apparatus of government (institutions like a parliament, civil services officials, etc.) ruling over a given territory, whose authority is backed by a legal system and by the capacity to use military force to implement its policies.’ Dunleavy and O’Leary (1967) have suggested the following five characteristics of the modern state: 1. The state is a recognizably separate institution or set of institutions, so differentiated from the rest of its society as to create identifiable public and private spheres. 2. The State is sovereign, or the supreme power, within its territory, and by definition the ultimate authority for all law. 3. The state’s sovereignty extends to all the individuals within a given territory, irrespective of formal positions held in the government or rule-making institutions. 4. The modern state’s personnel are mostly recruited and trained for manag

1. ORIGIN , NA T U R E &
FU N C T I O N S O F T H E ST A T E

2. DEFINITION OF ‘STATE’
 As a community of persons, permanently
occupying a definite territory, legally
independent of external control, and possessing a
organized government which create &
administrates law over all persons and groups
within its jurisdiction is ‘State”.

3. ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
(1) Population
(2) Territory
(3) Government
(4) Sovereignty

4. ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
 Population : A considerable group of human beings;
 Territory : A definite area of earth’s surface upon which
the population permanently resides
 G overnment: A political organization through which the
will or law of the state is expressed and administrated.
 Sovereignty : the supremacy of the state over all
individuals and associations within it and the independence
of the state from external control.

5. THEORIES OF THE STATE
 Various attempts to explain state;
 Various philosophers explain different ways;
(1)Force Theory
(2)The Divine Theory
(3)The Social-Contract Theory

6. THE FORCE THEORY
 The state came into existence as a result of the
forced subjection of the weak to the strong.
 Two arguments in force theory
(1) One group of thinkers used this theory to
justify the state on the ground that the state is
power, that might makes right and that the
essence of the state is a sovereign will.
(2) Second group, to attack the state because of its
injustice and urge individual freedom and
limited state action

7. THE FORCE THEORY
 In middle ages theologians argued that, the state
was based upon force and injustice and decried
the origin of earthly sovereignty in order to
subordinate temporal to spiritual power.
 Individualist & anarchist believe that the State
is an evil because of their desire for individual
freedom.
 Socialist believe that , the state resulted from the
aggression and exploitation of laborers by
capitalist and attack, not the idea of the state
itself.

8. THE DIVINE THEORY
 During the large part of human history the state
was viewed as direct divine creation.
 Early oriental empires rulers claimed a divine
tight to control the affairs of their subjects and
this right was seldome questioned.
 The Hebrews believed – divine origin
 Spat between State Concept & Christianity Pope

9. SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY
 In moral and political philosophy, the social
contract is a theory or model, originating during
the age of enlightenment, that typically addresses
the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy
of the authority of the state over the individual.
 Social contract arguments typically hypothesize that,
individuals have consented, either openly or tacitly, to
surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the
authority of the ruler or magistrate, in exchange for
protection of their remaining rights.
 The question of the relation between natural and legal
rights, therefore, is often an aspect of social contract
theory.

10. SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY
 Thomas Hobbes ( 1588-1679) : Leviathan (1651)
 John Locke ( 1632-1704) : Second Treatise of
Government (1689)
 Rousseau ( 1712-1778)
 Social Contract Theory: starts with the
assumption that, man lived originally in a ‘state of
nature’, antecedents (background) to the formation of
political organization. In this condition he was
subject only to such rules of natural law as are
prescribed by nature itself, and was the possessor
(holder) of natural rights.

11. SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY
 Hobbes ;
It was a state of war, a savage state, men were
selfish and aggressive brutes. Every men was the
enemy of every other man . To avoid fear and danger
of this terrible situation, men agreed to setup an
authority.
 John Locke;
Life in the state of nature was one of the peace and
ease. Freedom and tranquility (harmony) prevailed.
Men were bound by the law of nature and possessed
certain natural rights, but there was the absence of
an agency to interpret and implement the law of
nature, so men agreed to create a common authority.

12. SOCIAL CONTRACT
 Rousseau
People led to a ideal life and enjoyed ‘idyllic
happiness’ in the state of the nature. But the rise
of property produced evils. To escape from them
men set up authority by contract.

13. EVOLUTIONARY THEORY/ STATE
Forces in state building
 (1) Kinship
 (2) Religion
 (3) Industry
 (4) War

14. NATURE & ROLE OF THE STATE
 State has always been central to the political
analysis, to such an extent that politics is often
understood as the study of the state.
 Two key debates on State
 The first : focus the need for the state and the
basis of political obligations
 Second : concerns the nature of the state power

15. NATURE & ROLE OF THE STATE
1. Idealist theory of state
2. Marxist theory of state
3. Liberal theory of state

16. IDEALIST THEORY OF POLITICS
 Plato & Aristotle are considered to be founders of the
idealist theory.
 They started the premise that man is by nature a
social and political animal.
 It is only by living in society that man can develop
his personality and realize all that is best in him.
They never differentiated society with the state.
 They regarded the state as a self-sufficing entity
identical with the whole of society, existing for itself
and by itself.

17. MA J O R EXPONENTS
 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is regarded as father
of idealistic theory. He gives expression to this
doctrine in his famous book "metaphysical first
principles of theory and law" in 1796. Kant major
focus of analyzing is put of different aspect of state
and its relation with other element existing within
state.
 Hegel, His philosophy had made state to rise to
mystical heights and held that German people have
divine mission to fulfill in their relation to rest of
the world. .

18. IDEALIST STATE
 The state is the ethical institution and therefore a
end itself.
 Hegal (1770-1831): founder of modern idealism,
conceived as the state as an ethical community.
 The modern idealist developed a philosophy which
magnified the state into a self-sufficing entity.
 They regarded state as an organic unity and held it
as the highest expression of social morality.
 State as the moral organism
inseparable part of it and he
existence upon it.
individual is an
depends for his
 State exist to create and maintain those conditions
in which free and moral life is possible.

19. FE A T U R E S O F IDEALISM
 State is an ethical institution-state is an ethical
institution. Though there are many ethical institutions
in a society like Church, family etc but State is most
important among them
 State is man's best friend-State is man's best
friend. All the welfare of an individual is done by the
activities of state, it provides all basic necessity to an
individual growth and development within the state.
State activities is always focused towards individuals
welfare.
 State has got its independent will and
personality-The state is not the sum-total of the
individuals. But it has its own independent personality
and will. The basis of the state is will and not the force

20. FEATURES
 state is creator and protector of the rights of
the individuals- State is considered as guardian
and protector of the rights of an individual. State is
considered as source of all freedom and rights
provided to any individual.
 Man is a social animal- Idealism begins with
Aristotle's view that man is a social animal. This
social animal development is enriched under the
proper guidance of state. State is indispensable to
effective organization and realization of moral ends.

21. MARXIST THEORY OF THE STATE
 The early Marxist thinkers considered , the state
as an instrument of exploitation in the hands of
the dominant class.
 The state does not stand for the good of all,
rather it protects and promotes the interest of the
few at the cost of many.
 The state is an agency of class coercion in the
hands of the dominant economic class.
 The state maintain its exploitative class
character right from its origin through various
phases in developments.

22. MARXIST/ STATE
1. State is an instrument of class domination
2. State comes into existence for the protection of
private property
3. State is a symbol of injustice

23. NEO-MARXIST THEORIES OF STATE
 Max Webber rejected Marx’s class theory
 And stressed on the autonomy of state power .
 According to Webber, the state has its own
powerful resources, it enjoys executive control
over legitimate use of force in society which is not
accessible to private interests.
 It maintain a strong organization in the form of
bureaucracy which can formulate, implement and
monitor the policies of the state. The state power
could not be reduced to an instrument of class
interests.

24. NEO-MARXIST/ STATE
 Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937)
 Neo-marxism seeks to analyze the subtle aspects of
the phenomena of dominance, and dependence,
distortion in contemporary civilization and the
possible ways to human emancipation.

25. NEO-MARXIST/ STATE
 According to Gamsci, a web of beliefs and
institutional as well as social relations in the society
such as family, school, church, and other primary
groups play a leading role in the creating consent
which he describes as hegemony that keeps the
capital system going on. Use of force is restored to
only when the instruments of consents fail to work.

26. LIBERAL THEORY OF STATE
 A liberal state adopt a liberal attitude towards the
rights & privileges of the citizens.
 The restrictions of any type adopted by the
government will curb the liberty and spontaneity of
the individuals. It will slow down the growth of
mans personality and inherent qualities.
 So liberal state donates a limited government or
limited state.
 A state is liberal when it acknowledges the opinions,
attitudes and behaviors of individual and does not
think these as a threat to existence and
administration of state.

27. FEATURES OF THE LIBERAL STATE
 The liberal state embraces multiplicity if ideas,
views and existence of numerous groups and
parties.
 The liberal state maintains absolute neutrality
towards all groups. Since multiplicity of groups and
organizations and coexistence among them are the
characteristic features of a liberal state, clash of
interest can be seen as an inevitable consequence.
 It is accountable to the citizenry for all its activities,
decisions, and policies. The consent and account
ability are the twin ideas associated with the liberal
state.

28. What are the economic functions of a government?
1.Protection of private property and maintaining law and order /
national defence.
2.Raising taxes.
3.Providing public services not provided in a free market (e.g. health
care, education, street lighting)
4.Limit market failure through the regulation of markets, e.g.
regulations on environment/labour markets/monopoly.
5.Macroeconomic management, e.g. use of fiscal and monetary policy
to control business cycle – recession and inflation.
6.Reducing inequality/poverty.

30. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME) Policy Strategy
• There is much evidence on the central role played by the micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) and the contribution they make to the socio-economic
development of economies, and this is well documented in literature. Study
findings by Peterholf, Romeo and Calvey (2014) showed that small and
medium enterprises account for 90% of all businesses globally.
• In addition, MSMEs were reported to generate 60% of employment
worldwide and provide jobs to roughly 80% of workforce in the developed
world. In addition, SMEs have been touted for driving competition and
innovation within an economy.

31. FOREIGN INVESTMENT POLICY IN MALAWI
• Macro-Economic Stability
A stable macroeconomic environment is fundamental for any economy’s
growth
• Economic Infrastructure, Transport and Communication
Realizing the role that efficient transport and communication play in the
economy, GoM is strengthening the country’s infrastructure in the
physical, communication, and service sectors in order to facilitate
domestic and foreign investment
• Labor Supply and Labor Practices
Malawi’s total population of 12.4 million coupled with an exhaustive
education system assures investors of an ample supply of skilled and
semi-skilled labor in all the sectors of the economy
• Availability of Land
GoM ensures that land in all sectors of the economy is readily available
for investors.

32. Corporate Social Responsibility in Malawi
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Malawi is becoming a
significant issue not only because of the complexity of the social,
economic and political environment in which companies operate,
but also because of the social and environmental impacts which
business operations have on the wider Malawian society

33. Issues in Corporate Governance in Malawi
Malawi is a young democracy, having transitioned to multi-party democracy
only in 1994. It remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with 80-
85% of the population living in rural areas and deriving their livelihoods from
agriculture.

34. •Rule of law: Malawi’s court system is overburdened and under
resourced, and people living in rural areas have poor access to
justice.
•Gender: Women and girls in Malawi face widespread
discrimination and domestic violence is common. Despite
comprising 51% of the population, only 13.6% of parliamentary
seats are held by women.
•Decentralisation and Local Governance: Although recent
decentralisation intiatives have had some success at regional and
district levels, there have been stark inequalities in distribution at
the sub-district level.
•Education: Education is allocated 24.6 percent share of the
budget and Malawi has one of the highest enrolment rates in Africa
(63.1%).
•Private Sector and Financial Services: Agricultural markets have
largely been excluded from formal financial systems. The private
sector also remains underdeveloped and faces numerous
regulations, heavy taxation and lacks protection under rule of law/
property rights.