- Are you confused by academic jargon? - Do you know your `discourse' from your `dialectic'? - Can you tell the difference between `anomie' and `alienation'? The Social Science Jargon Buster tackles the most confusing concepts in the social sciences, brea

(The) State

Core definition

A set of socio-political institutions that has the authority to govern the population of a geographically bounded territory.

Longer explanation

This is actually quite a tricky word that overlaps, and is sometimes used synonymously with, nation/country (a geographical region) and government (individuals in a position of power who run a nation). But the ...

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