In popular discussion, the terms ‘State’ and ‘government’ are often used interchangeably; the (me is used for the other. The two are often confused together. There is a celebrated saying of a French King, Louis XIV,”I am the Stat”. What he meant was: “I am the Government.” Let us now distinguish die State from the government, a distinction which was first made by the famous French thinker, J.J.Rousseau.
(i) The State is abstract, the government concrete.
The State is an abstract concept, which cannot be perceived by our senses. It comprises of four elements. All States are identical, because they must consist of the four essential elements. The government is a concrete term, which refers to a group of persons who can be seen exercising supreme authority.
(ii) Government is a narrower term than the State.
(iii) The State consists of the total population which lives in a particular territory. But the government means only a few persons who administer it Every citizen is a member of the State, but he or she is not necessarily a member of the government, unless he or she is elected to the legislature or becomes a minister or a judge, etc. The State is permanent, the government is temporary.
The State has the quality of permanence. The whole world is divided into a certain number of States, each occupying a portion of territory on the globe. Hence it is a permanent association. On the other hand, the government is temporary. When one government falls, either by election or revolution, another is formed, but the State continues to remain the same, provided revolution does not bring about a political transformation, in which case a new type of State comes into being.
(iv) Sovereignty belongs to the State, not to the government.
The State is the sovereign community, politically organised, whereas the government is only an agent of the State. The government exercises such authority as is given to it by the State through its constitution. The relation between the State and the government is like that of a principal and his agent
(v) Territory is an essential characteristic of the State but not of the government
The State cannot exist without the territory, but the government has no reference to territory; it refers to persons or groups of persons who exercise political power or authority.
(vi) The State is an association; the government is an organisation.
The State is an association of human beings for realising common ends or purposes, whereas the government is a machinery or organisation for realising the purposes or ends for which the State exists. It is the government which carries out the purposes of the State. That is why one cannot imagine a State without the government, which expresses the will of the State.
(vii) The individual can have rights against the government, but not against the State.’