Illustration of the Book Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes.

In modern politics, a state is an association which has control over a geographic area or territory. States are seen as having three main pieces:

• Having control over a geographic area, or known as a territory
• A people, which is the population of the known state.
• Some institutions (which have the power to make rules).

There are different forms of government a state can have, for example a republic or a monarchy. Sometimes states form their own countries. At other times many states work together to form a country (like the United States). Most states also have armed forces, civil service, law and police. view more...