WAEC Government 2022 Theory question 104

Theory question 104

The State and Government

Identify five differences between the state as an entity and government as an institution.

Show the model answer
Model answer

Any five pairs: the state is permanent, government is temporary; the state is abstract, government is concrete (people/officials); the state is sovereign, government exercises sovereignty on behalf of the state; the state includes all citizens, government is a small group of people; the state has population, territory, government and sovereignty as features, government is only one of them; states are fewer and alike in essence, governments differ in form (democratic, military etc.); one cannot sue the state in the same way, but government can be criticised and changed; the state owns sovereignty, government is its agent.

Explanation

Write each as a pair: the state ... while government ...