A polity is a term for an identifiable political entity, defined as a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalizedsocial relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources.[1] A polity can be any group of people organized for governance, such as the board of a corporation, the government of a country, or the government of a country subdivision. A polity may be a republic administered by an elected representative or the realm of a hereditary monarch.
A polity encapsulates a vast multitude of organizations, many of which form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states such as their subordinate civil and local government authorities.[2][3] Polities do not need to be in control of any geographic areas, as not all political entities and governments have controlled the resources of one fixed geographic area. The historical Steppe Empires originating from the Eurasian Steppe are the most prominent example of non-sedentary polities. These polities differ from states because of their lack of a fixed, defined territory. Empires also differ from states in that their territories are not statically defined or permanently fixed and consequently that their body politic was also dynamic and fluid. It is useful then to think of a polity as a political community.
A polity can also be defined either as a faction within a larger (usually state) entity or at different times as the entity itself. For example, Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan are parts of their own separate and distinct polity. However, they are also members of the sovereign state of Iraq which is itself a polity, albeit one which is much less specific and as a result much less cohesive. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to belong to more than one polity at a time.
Polities do not necessarily need to be governments. A corporation, for instance, is capable of marshalling resources, has a governance structure, legal rights and exclusive jurisdiction over internal decision making. An ethnic community within a country or coast to coast entity may be a polity if they have sufficient organization and cohesive interests that can be furthered by such organization.
^Ferguson, Yale; Mansbach, Richard W. (1996). "Polities: Authority, Identities, and Change". Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press.
^Black's Law Dictionary, 4th ed. (1968). West Publishing Co.
polity, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2023, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Polity news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message For other uses see Polity disambiguation Not to be confused with policy A polity is a term for an identifiable political entity defined as a group of people with a collective identity who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations and have a capacity to mobilize resources 1 A polity can be any group of people organized for governance such as the board of a corporation the government of a country or the government of a country subdivision A polity may be a republic administered by an elected representative or the realm of a hereditary monarch Contents 1 Overview 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksOverview edit nbsp Frontispiece of Leviathan 1651In geopolitics a polity can manifest in different forms such as a state an empire an international organization a political organization and other identifiable resource manipulating organizational structures A polity like a state does not need to be a sovereign unit The most preeminent polities today are Westphalian states and nation states commonly referred to as countries A polity encapsulates a vast multitude of organizations many of which form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states such as their subordinate civil and local government authorities 2 3 Polities do not need to be in control of any geographic areas as not all political entities and governments have controlled the resources of one fixed geographic area The historical Steppe Empires originating from the Eurasian Steppe are the most prominent example of non sedentary polities These polities differ from states because of their lack of a fixed defined territory Empires also differ from states in that their territories are not statically defined or permanently fixed and consequently that their body politic was also dynamic and fluid It is useful then to think of a polity as a political community A polity can also be defined either as a faction within a larger usually state entity or at different times as the entity itself For example Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan are parts of their own separate and distinct polity However they are also members of the sovereign state of Iraq which is itself a polity albeit one which is much less specific and as a result much less cohesive Therefore it is possible for an individual to belong to more than one polity at a time Thomas Hobbes was a highly significant figure in the conceptualisation of polities in particular of states Hobbes considered notions of the state and the body politic in Leviathan his most notable work 4 Polities do not necessarily need to be governments A corporation for instance is capable of marshalling resources has a governance structure legal rights and exclusive jurisdiction over internal decision making An ethnic community within a country or coast to coast entity may be a polity if they have sufficient organization and cohesive interests that can be furthered by such organization See also edit nbsp Politics portalKokutai Nation Politeia Political systemReferences edit Ferguson Yale Mansbach Richard W 1996 Polities Authority Identities and Change Columbia South Carolina University of South Carolina Press Black s Law Dictionary 4th ed 1968 West Publishing Co Uricich v Kolesar 54 Ohio App 309 7 N E 2d 413 Hobbes Thomas 1651 Leviathan Retrieved 2 January 2019 External links edit nbsp Look up polity in Wiktionary the free dictionary Dictionary of the History of Ideas analogy of the body politic elaboration of correspondences between society or the state and the individual human body Polity at the Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polity amp oldid 1183099937, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
