View of States

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View of States
A state or country is a self-governing political entity. A state is involved in market engagement, security (defense), the rule of law, citizen engagement, public goods, and policymaking. Regardless of the type of government, states protect the citizens and sovereignty. In economic policymaking, the state's role in influencing the economy is common, and left-leaning leaders favor state intervention in planned economies. However, in fiscally conservative governments, there is a limited role of government. Political decisions and policies often reflect perceptions of the role of the government on political, economic, legal, national security, and other domestic matters besides foreign policy. States promote democratic ideals or totalitarianism, promote national identity, economic policies, including free markets, protect national security, and promote the rule of law, national identity, political sovereignty, and interests.
States control political violence, but they may also encourage and fail to penalize non-state actors exercising violence that benefits the political leaders. Weak states lack control over the country's affairs, including security and effective economic activities. Volkov (741) argued that violent entrepreneurship is more common in states lacking stable, predictable environments as the government fails to protect property rights. Uncertainties about a government's plans and intentions further reflect the weak control over a state's affairs. While focusing more on organized violence and institutionalized conflict targeting entrepreneurs in post-Communist Russia, the research is helpful to understand his view on the role of the state. Furthermore, weak states have state agencies or non-state actors who wield too much power and rely on intimidation, violence, corruption, and coercion, and such is the case with the mafia-like organizations and oligopolies in post-communist Russia. Predatory businesses and corrupt leaders thrive in weak non-democratic states while also increasing the security risk and risk of organized crime.
The political structure and ideology influence perceptions on the state's role in allowing individualism or central planning on economic matters. Hayek (68-69) argued the case for liberal democracy and protecting freedoms and liberty, but totalitarian states threaten freedoms. While Hayek does not directly focus on what a state is, he distinguishes the liberal democratic society from a totalitarian state. There is excessive government control in authoritarian and totalitarian states, including central planning and the government discouraging individualism. On the other hand, Stalin, the former Soviet leader, believed the state or government should promote and support. A planned economy where the state marshals resources that are distributed to the people and power is in the hands of the people (Hayek 3). Additionally, Stalin argued the Soviet system would be more effective when the government promoted collectivism, such as state farms. Stalin's idea on the state differs from Hayek's as the latter believed the state exercising power could threaten individual freedoms. 
 In democratic states with strong instituti...