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Notable Quote

"A state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory."

— Weber, Max event 1919

From Politics as a Vocation (p. 78)

Context: From "Politics as a Vocation" (1919), Weber's answer to the question "what is a state?" Sociologically, he argues, the state cannot be defined by its ends, since there is no task some political association hasn't taken on; it can only be defined by its specific means: the use of physical force. Territory, he adds, is one of the state's defining characteristics, and the right to use violence is granted to any other institution or individual only to the extent the state permits it.

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policy Theory of the State error Coercion account_balance Government