THE FIRST UNITING CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

SENIOR HIGHSCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Philippine Politics and Governance

Topic: States, Nations and Globalization
(QUARTER 2 2nd Semester - WEEK 1 and 2)

TO THE LEARNERS

Here are some reminders as you use this module:

✓ Use the module with care especially in turning each page.
✓ Read and comprehend the directions in every exercises.
✓ Observe honesty in answering the tests and exercises.
✓ Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of this material.
✓ Try to finish a given activity before proceeding to the next.
States, Nations and Globalization

Concept of a State
State taken from the Latin stare (to stand) a state is a political community that occupies a definite territory; having
an organized government with the authority to make and enforce laws without the consent of a higher authority. It
is also defined as a self-governing political entity.

Elements of a State
1 People - also known as population or inhabitants.
2. Territory - refers to the portion of the earth which composed of aerial (air space above), fluvial (waters around
and connecting the islands of the archipelago) and the terrestrial (landmass) domains.

Maritime terms:
a. Territorial Sea - coastal states have sovereignty, including exclusive fishing rights (12 nautical miles)
b. Contiguous zone- coastal state can enforce its customs, immigration, and sanitation laws and exercise “hot
pursuit” out of its territorial waters (24 nautical miles).
c. Exclusive Economic Zone - state has recognized rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage the natural
resources (200 nautical miles).
d. Continental Shelf - countries have exclusive rights to natural resources up to 350 nm.
e. High Seas - beyond EEZ - “common heritage of humankind.”

3. Sovereignty - refers to supreme and absolute power within its territorial boundaries.

Types of Sovereignty
1. Internal is the power of the state to rule within its territory
2. External is the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection to or control by other states.

Characteristics of Sovereignty
1. Sovereignty is absolute from the legal point of view.
2. Sovereignty is permanent
3. Sovereignty of the state is universal
4. Sovereignty is inalienable
5. Sovereignty cannot be divided between or shared by a plurality
6. Sovereignty is exclusive

4. Government – refers to the institution or agency or instrumentalities through which the state maintains social
order, provide public services, and enforces binding decisions. International recognition, e.g. by the UN

Forms of Government
1. Distribution of Power
a. Unitary government power is held by one central authority. Example: Philippines, Denmark, Italy,
Finland Peru.
b. Confederation it is a voluntary association of independent states that often only delegate a few powers
to the central government. Weak or loose organization of states agrees to follow a powerful central
government. Examples: The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formerly known as the Soviet
Union, Switzerland’s canton system.
c. Federal government power is divided between one central and several regional authorities. Example:
Malaysia, USA, Nigeria, Australia
2. Citizen Participation
a. Autocracy. Form of government wherein one person possesses unlimited power. The citizen has
limited, if any, role in government. The leader is from a family or from a social class or from a strong party.
In addition, Monarchy is a government in which a supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch
who reigns over a state or territory, usually for life and by hereditary right; the monarch may be wither a
sole absolute ruler or a sovereign – such a king, queen, or prince – with constitutionally limited authority.

Form of Autocratic Government

1. Absolute or Totalitarian Dictatorship. The ideas of a single leader glorified. Government tries to control all
aspects of social and economic life. Moreover, the government is not responsible to the people. Thus, the people
lack the power to limit their rulers. Examples: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin.
2. Absolute Monarchy. The king, queen, or emperor exercises the supreme and unlimited powers of government
wherein the position is usually inherited. Absolute monarch rules by divine right are rare today but from the 1400s
to the 1700s they rule most of Western Europe. Example: King of Saudi Arabia. The counterpart of absolute
monarchy is limited monarchy wherein the ruler has a limited power as mandated by the constitution.

b. Oligarchy. It is the government by the few. Sometimes a small group exercises control, especially for
corrupt and selfish purposes. The group gets its power from military power, social power, wealth, religion
or a combination. In here, the citizen has a very limited role. Thus, political opposition is usually
suppressed-sometimes violently. Example: Communist countries such as China, Leaders in the party and
armed forces control government.
 Note: Autocracy and oligarchy sometimes claim they rule for the people but in reality, the people have
very little say in both types of government. They may hold elections which only one candidate or control
the results in various ways. Moreover, even when the government have a legislature or national
assembly, they often only approve decisions made by the leaders.

c. Democracy. It is a government based on the consent of the governed. The people are the sovereign,
thus, they hold the highest political authority. Citizens have freedom to criticize their leaders because they
are the one who elected them in the position. People have high a degree of participation in every
government processes. Democracy has two forms: Indirect democracy or representative democracy is a
form of democratic government wherein the people directly elect their leaders who will govern them and
perform governmental functions; and Direct democracy is a form of government wherein the people will
convene in a mass assembly and directly formulate an expressed the will of the state

3. Legitimacy
a. De jure. It is a form of government wherein it has the peoples support and possess constitutional
mandate. Therefore, it is a legitimate government.
b. De facto. It is a form of government supported by the people but no constitutional mandate or legal
support.
Executive and Legislative Relationship
a. Presidential – a form of government in which executive branch exists separately from the legislature.
The president is constitutionally independent from the legislature because they are elected directly by the
people.
b. Parliamentary – a form of government in which members of an executive branch (the cabinet and its
leader - a prime minister are nominated to their positions by a legislature or parliament, and are directly
responsible to it)

An Independent State
➢ Has space or territory which has internationally recognized boundaries.
➢ Has people who live there on an on-going basis.
➢ Has economic activity and an organized economy. A country regulates foreign trade and domestic
trade and issues money.
➢ Has the power of social engineering, such as education
➢ Has a transportation system for moving goods or services.
➢ Has a government which provided public services and police power.
➢ Has sovereignty. No other state should have the power over the country’s territory.
➢ Has external recognition. A country has been “voted into the club” by other countries.

Origins of the State

1. Evolution Theory – States evolved from family units. The families grew into a large extended family that heads
of the family served as a government. Eventually evolved into tribal councils with a hierarchy of authority.
2. Force Theory - Governments, emerged when people were brought under the control of some power. States
emerged from the conquest of other families or tribes.
3. Divine Right - Belief that kings are chosen to rule the Ancient state by a deity examples include Egyptians and
Aztecs.
4. Social Contract - It existed during the 17 th Century and the Age of Enlightenment. People begin to challenge
the monarchy and the idea of Divine Right.

Concept of Nation
➢ Nation (Anderson 1991, Poggi 2008) is the social construction of a collective identity. It is an imagined political
community that is imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.
➢ It is also defined as a group of people who share the same territory, geography, language, customs and
sometimes religion.
Distinction between the State and Nation (Murali, et.al. 2005)
Concept of Globalization
Globalization also known as global industrialism is a process of forging international political, economic,
religious, and socio-cultural interconnections. The concept of sovereign nation-states is increasingly being challenged by
globalization.

State Nation
Exited not only at present but also in the ancient Modern phenomenon.
period.
It is legal political. It is racial cultural.
People organized for law within a definite territory. People psychologically joined together with
common will to live together.
A state must be sovereign People continue as a nation even if they do not
remain sovereign.
Inhabited by heterogeneous groups of People Inhabited by homogenous groups of people.
 Philippine Politics and Governance
Topic: The Local Government
(QUARTER 2 2nd Semester - WEEK 1 and 2)

Name___________________________________Year/Section___________________Date______

Teacher: _Mr. Erwin L. Layaban___

Activity: Identify current issues in the country, which has reached global attention. For example, the war on drugs.

POLITICAL HEALTH ECONOMIC

TRUE OR FALSE Directions: Read the statements carefully. Write T if the statement is correct and write F if the
statement is incorrect.

_______1. Globalization is taken from the Latin stare (to stand) a political community that occupies a definite territory;
having an organized government with the authority to make and enforce laws without the consent of a higher authority. It
is also defined as a self-governing political entity.

________2. Territory refers to the portion of the earth which composed of aerial (air space above), fluvial (waters around
and connecting the islands of the archipelago) and the terrestrial (landmass) domains.

________3. People is one of the elements of the states which refer to coastal states that have sovereignty, including
exclusive fishing.

________4. Sovereignty refers to supreme and absolute power within its territorial boundaries.

________5. Sovereignty can be divided between or shared by a plurality.

________6. Confederation is a voluntary association of independent states that often only delegate a few powers to the
central government. Weak or loose organization of states agrees to follow a powerful central government.

________7. Federal government power is not divided between one central and several regional authorities. Example:
Malaysia, USA, Nigeria, Australia.

________8. Autocracy is a form of government wherein one person possesses unlimited power. The citizen has limited, if
any, role in government.

________9. In absolute, totalitarian dictatorship, the king, queen, or emperor exercises the supreme and unlimited powers
of government wherein the position is usually inherited. Absolute monarch rules by divine right are rare today but from the
1400s to the 1700s they rule most of Western Europe.

________10. Oligarchy is the government by the few. Sometimes a small group exercises control, especially for corrupt
and selfish purposes. The group gets its power from military power, social power, wealth, religion or a combination. In
here, the citizen has a very limited role.

________11. Democracy is a government not based on the consent of the governed. The people are the sovereign, thus,
they hold the highest political authority.

________12. De jure is a form of government wherein it has the peoples support and possess constitutional mandate.
Therefore, it is a legitimate government.

________13. Nation (Anderson 1991, Poggi 2008) is not the social construction of a collective identity. It is an imagined
political community that is imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.

________14. Divine Right is a belief that kings are chosen to rule the Ancient state by a deity examples include Egyptians
and Aztecs.

________15. In social contract theory, governments emerged when people were brought under the control of some
power. States emerged from the conquest of other families or tribes.