Nowadays, viable political order takes the form of a nation-state. Other forms like empires or tribes have a hard time legitimizing their rule and are succumbing to the political form of the nation-state. A political form flows from the political constitution and is basically the institutionalization of sovereignty derived from the relation between subjection and hegemony: Authority must flow towards the government and the state institutions; Dominance must secure protection and prosperity for subjects in society. How the political form is constructed and how well it will fare in the future is the topic for polity analysis. Basically, political form are structures evolving around a locus of decision, i.e. government. To govern a society of just 100.000 citizens demands for substantive structures usually referred to as institutions. Developing a viable state takes time and effort, since many institutions must be formed. With functioning institutions, a political form can be in place for many generations: The Persian empire and polities like Sparta managed to sustain themselves for centuries. Central to the territorial nation-state is the distribution of power to the effect of deterring the members of polity from trespassing the law. Monopolization of violations is thus an aspiration of any political form.
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