What Is a City-State?
You've seen the word a thousand times, but what does it actually mean?
City-states are small, independent areas that have full sovereignty over their domestic and international policies. Unlike in larger states, city-states have full jurisdiction over everything that happens within their borders including cultural, economic, and political life and do not share power with any regional or city governments. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the term was coined in the late 19th century and has been used to categorize cities in Ancient Greece, Phoenicia, and Italy. city-states were different from other systems of government like tribal or national systems because of their “size, exclusiveness, patriotism, and passion for independence”.
Ancient City-States Throughout History
It is believed that city-states began to develop as large tribal groups began to splinter around 1000 to 800 BCE and groups set up their own forms of government. As these communities continued to grow, people from those areas emigrated to different parts of the world and set up new city-states. All of the city-states had their own unique structures in place and many of them ended up being extremely successful in developing human activity which led to the foundation of the Greco-Roman civilization.
The first recognized Greek city-states such as Sparta, Athens, and Corinth appeared during the Classical Period of Ancient Greece between the 4th and 5th centuries BCE and interestingly, the word polis actually comes from the word Acropolis which was the seat of government of Ancient Athens. This system of government lasted until the fall of Ancient Rome in the 5th century AD. Unfortunately, because each one was unique with its own political and economic structures, it was difficult for them to form any type of alliance against larger powers like Macedonia, Carthage, or Rome and most of them ended up being absorbed into larger states.
There was a brief period in the 11th century AD when Italian city-states developed including Naples, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice which were able to grow powerful enough to exert force onto other territories due to their considerable economic power. Most of these were located within the Byzantine territory or had strong ties to the government in Istanbul and were able to trade with eastern powers.
Today’s City-States
Today, we once again have a handful of modern city-states scattered around the world including Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City. Much like their predecessors in the 8th century BCE, the development of each of these city-states was incredibly different and they all have unique economic and political characteristics.
Singapore was originally part of Malaysia before being expelled from the Malaysian Federation. Since then, it has developed into a multicultural economic hub of Asia with a highly trained military and a population of around 5.7 million people and has a parliamentary system of government.
With around 1,000 inhabitants, Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent country and the Pope serves as the legislative, executive, and judicial head of government based on the Lateran Treaty that was signed in 1929 that gave full independence and sovereignty to the Pope. The city-state relies heavily on tourism and donations.
Monaco is located along France’s Mediterranean coast and although it has less than 40,000 inhabitants, it is the world’s most densely populated country. Like Vatican City, Monaco has no military but has a strong economy based on tourism and gambling.
There are also a few regions that operate like city-states; however, do not meet the full definition of a city-state. These include Hong Kong and Macau which currently operate as autonomous regions of China with their own political and economic systems; however, they are still under control of the Chinese government and considered a subdivision of China rather than being an independent state.
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