Embedded Files
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior learning:
Section 1.1.1 The economy and you, which explains what an economy is and how it is relevant to students’ lives
Section 1.1.2 The embedded economy, which explains the relationship between the economy and society and Earth’s systems
Section 5.1.1 The state as a system, which defines the state, its parts and their relationships, and some ways to classify states
Section S.1 What are systems?, which explains what a system is, the importance of systems boundaries, the difference between open and closed systems and the importance of systems thinking
Section S.2 Systems thinking patterns, which outlines the core components of systems thinking: distinctions (thing/other), systems (part/whole), relationships (action/reaction), and perspectives (point/view)
Section S.3 Systems diagrams and models, which explains the systems thinking in some familiar information tools as well as the symbols used to represent parts/wholes, relationships and perspectives
Section S.5 Causal loops, feedback and tipping points, which explains the feedback loops that can stabilise or destabilise systems.
Learning objectives:
outline the historical origins of states
describe state power and explain why people may obey the state
Over 500 years ago, the Inca Empire thrived in the Andes Mountains of South America, spanning modern-day Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Its success lay in a remarkable system of governance. The Incas organised their society and economy through mit’a, a labour system rooted in reciprocity. Every household worked to build roads, maintain irrigation systems, or create goods for the community. In return, the state provided food, shelter, and security, supporting the wellbeing of its people.
This system not only resulted in huge achievements like the construction of Machu Picchu (Figure 1) and productive agricultural terraces, but also supported the state’s legitimacy. People obeyed because they saw the benefits of their labour reflected in shared prosperity.
Figure 1. The Inca Empire mobilised workers to complete large construction projects like Machu Picchu.
Credit: Pedro Szekely, CC BY-SA 2.0)
However, the system didn’t last. Spanish colonists transformed mit’a into a system of forced labour, exploiting indigenous communities to mine silver. This transformation reveals how the role of the state, its power and legitimacy can change over time.
But what gave the Inca rulers their power? Why did people obey them? And how do these ideas help us understand the states we live in today?
How did states begin?
How did states begin?
For tens of thousands of years, humans lived in small groups. They shared resources, made decisions together, and often moved to find food, water, or shelter.
About 12,000 years ago, things began to change. A warmer and more stable climate made farming possible in some places. People started growing crops and keeping animals. This created food surpluses, more food than they needed to survive. With enough food, some people could focus on other tasks like toolmaking, trading, or planning community projects.
Figure 2. Illustrations of farming in the tomb of Nakht, an ancient Egyptian state official.
(Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain)
Many historians used to believe that farming always led to villages, cities, leaders, and then states. But some historians and anthropologists suggest that the story is more complex. Some groups farmed, but community members remained equal. Others created large cities with no kings or rulers. People experimented with different ways of living together. In some places, they chose to follow seasonal rules, living one way in the summer, and another in winter.
Over time, states did emerge in some regions, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China. These were organised systems of governance, with power to make and enforce laws within set borders. Some believe states began as a formal or informal agreement between people and rulers called the social contract. In this view, people accept state authority in exchange for safety and services. But others argue that states often began through force, not agreement. Some state authorities used force to collect taxes, control land, and maintain order.
Even today, people still debate how states began and whether they are always needed. What we do know is that early humans were creative and thoughtful. They made many choices about how to live, and the state was only one of those choices.
What is state power and why do people obey the state?
What is state power and why do people obey the state?
Power is the ability to influence or control the behavior of others. Power might involve physical force, but also includes persuasion, control of resources, and shared beliefs. In the context of states, power is what enables leaders and institutions to carry out essential state functions: providing core services, safeguarding individuals and society, and stabilising and guiding change in the economy (Figure 3). These functions are described in more detail in the next Section 5.1.3.
For a state to maintain power without the use of physical force, its people must see the state as legitimate, meaning they believe it has the right to rule. Legitimacy often comes from the state’s ability to fulfill its role in the social contract, because humans are motivated by reciprocity. People are more likely to obey the state if it provides safety, stability, and practical benefits such as roads, schools, or healthcare.
Figure 3. The state needs power to carry out its functions.
For example, the Inca state’s redistribution of resources and protection from external threats strengthened its legitimacy. In modern states, legitimacy is also often tied to the rule of law and a country’s constitution, which sets out the role and powers of the state as well as the rights of the people. A government elected by the people is generally seen as more legitimate than one that gets its power by force.
Legitimacy can also come from shared beliefs, traditions, or values. In many early states, rulers justified their authority through religion or culture. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were seen as living gods, while the Inca rulers claimed to be descendants of the sun god. These beliefs reinforced obedience by creating a sense of unity and purpose. Today, shared values like democracy, justice, and equality encourage citizens to accept the authority of the state, as long as the state upholds these values.
Fear is another reason people obey the state. Some states use coercion, which means using threats backed by police or military force, to make people follow rules. States with less legitimacy, especially those that take power by force, often rely more on fear to stay in control. In these cases, people may feel ruled rather than represented.
Sometimes, limited coercion may be needed to protect people from harm. But when it is misused, such as targeting groups who speak out or ask the state to act fairly, it can damage trust. When trust in the state is lost, unrest, violence, or even revolution become more likely.
Figure 4. Student protests in Bangladesh in 2024 led to the overthrow of the authoritarian state.
Credit: Rayhan Ahmed, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Obedience of a population is not guaranteed. Revolutions, protests, independence movements and terrorism throughout history show how quickly legitimacy can disappear when people lose trust in the state. If a government fails to provide security or practical benefits, or if it misuses its power, people are more likely to challenge its authority. This highlights how the balance between power, legitimacy, and the needs of the population is essential for a state’s peaceful survival and effective functioning.
Threats to state functions, and therefore to its legitimacy, are covered in greater detail in Subtopic 5.2.
Activity 5.1.2
Activity 5.1.2
Concept: Power
Skills: Thinking skills (transfer), Research skills (information literacy)
Time: varies, depending on option
Type: Individual, pairs, or group
Option 1: How do people think about the power and legitimacy of the state where you live?
Time: 45+ minutes
Survey Design (15 minutes): In small groups, students create a short survey for adults in the school with questions like:
What gives the state its authority?
Do you trust the state? Why or why not?
Students can also come up with their own questions related to the information in Section 5.1.2.
Conducting the survey (15 minutes): Students survey teachers, staff, or other adults in the school community.
Reflection and discussion (15 minutes): Groups analyze responses and discuss common themes, connecting findings to the concepts of power and legitimacy.
This activity may require more than one lesson to complete. You could develop and conduct the survey in one lesson, and then discuss the results in a second lesson. Students could also combine their survey results and find a way to represent it visually.
Option 2: Interpreting research data
Time: 45 minutes
Read the short article below about 2024 research on satisfaction with democracy in high income countries from the US-based Pew Research Center.
Satisfaction with democracy has declined in recent years in high-income nations
Look at the data in the Pew Research Center article. What trends do you notice about satisfaction with democracy in high-income nations, and how might these relate to perceptions of state legitimacy?
What might be the impact of the trends noted in the article in terms of state power, state legitimacy and the stability of the political systems in the researched countries?
Reflection: People are clearly expressing dissatisfaction with the state in these surveys. Consider the information from this section and the previous one. Do you think that people’s dissatisfaction is really about democracy, or could there be something else going on? If something else, what might the source of their dissatisfaction be?
Figure 5. Percentage of people surveyed in various countries who say representative democracy is a very good way to govern
(Credit: Pew Research Center)
Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 5.5
Checking for understanding
Checking for understanding
Coming soon!
Further exploration
Further exploration
WHP Origins | Unit 3 Overview - Early Agrarian Societies | OER Project - A concise video overview of humanity’s transition to farming, exploring its social and environmental impacts. Difficulty level: easy
Sapiens: A Graphic History - a series of three graphic narratives capturing Yuval Noah Harari’s bestselling book Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind. Difficulty level: easy
Global Elections in 2024: What We Learned in a Year of Political Disruption | Pew Research Center - A detailed report analyzing global political trends and elections in 2024, highlighting patterns of disruption and their implications for democracy worldwide. Difficulty level: Medium
Representative Democracy Remains a Popular Ideal, but People Around the World Are Critical of How It’s Working - An in-depth report from the US-based Pew Research Center examining global support for representative democracy alongside critiques of its effectiveness and comparisons to non-democratic alternatives. Difficulty level: Medium
Who Likes Authoritarianism, and How Do They Want to Change Their Government?- A concise analysis from the US-based Pew Research Center exploring global attitudes toward authoritarianism and preferences for government reform. Difficulty level: Medium
Sources
Sources
Christian, D. (2018). Origin story: A big history of everything. Little, Brown Spark.
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2025, February 27). EIU’s 2024 Democracy Index: trend of global democratic decline and strengthening authoritarianism continues through 2024. The Economist Group. https://www.eiu.com/n/democracy-index-2024/
Graeber, D., & Wengrow, D. (2021). The dawn of everything: A new history of humanity. Allen Lane.
Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Harper Perennial.
OER Project. (n.d.). The first cities, states, and empires. World History: Origins. https://www.oerproject.com/World-History-Origins/Unit-3/The-First-Cities-States-and-Empires
Quechuas Expeditions. (n.d.). The Inca labor system and mit’a obligations. https://www.quechuasexpeditions.com/the-inca-labor-system-and-mita-obligations/
Reidy, D. A., & Riker, W. J. (Eds.). (2008). Coercion and the state. Springer.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2022). John Rawls. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2022 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rawls/#PolLibLegStaWitLibSoc
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Terminology (in order of appearance)
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