О НАСТАНКУ, ПОЈМУ И ЕЛЕМЕНТИМА ДРЖАВЕ/ON THE ORIGIN, CONCEPT AND ELEMENTS OF THE STATE

Abstract

Интересовање науке за основна питања везана за теорију државе не престаје од њеног настанка, али и поред тога још увек се трага за неким од одговора. Аутор ће се у раду, у најкраћем, осврнути на питање настанка државе, њен појам, те на три основна елемента државе – територију, становништво и државну власт.

The modern state emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries among the Germanic peoples. It was then that the term Stato was coined, which Machiavelli was the first to use to denote the state. The words State (English), Staat (German), Etat (French) were later derived from it. In German, the word Staat, which is still in use today, was preceded by the word Land. Precisely this word, in its original meaning, is closer to our meaning of the word state, which originated before the Italian word Stato. Namely, it was recorded in Dušan's Code. The term Land is still in use and today it means German federal units.The ancient Greeks used the term Polis from which the term Politeia was derived to denote a collective that would suit today's state. Terms such as Res publica, Civitas and Regnum are used to denote the Roman state. Our word state, which has been in use since the 14th century, is derived from the word hold, which means to possess, to have in one's power, to do, to perform, to keep. It signified a country held by individuals or communities. The power that a community or individual possessed or exercised over other members of the community arose from the ownership of that land. The same could be said for the Russian word gosudarstvo, which has the same root as our term država (state). The state, in accordance with the traditional conception, can be defined as a political community that has internally and externally recognized sovereign power in a certain territory and population. The traditional theory of the state distinguishes, therefore, its three elements, namely: territory, population (people) and state power.