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Note:  This page primarily deals the with body politic known as a state (noun) — not the adjective, as in:

state:
adjective

1. Pertaining to a State of the United States.

2. Pertaining to government generally. [1]

state:
n. (16c)

l. The political system of a body of people who are politically organized; the system of rules by which jurisdiction and authority are exercised over such a body of people. <separation of church and state>. — aka political society; nonsovereign state; dependent state.  Cf. NATION. [2]

1. A body politic or society of women and men united for the purpose of promoting their mutual safety through their combined strength, occupying a definite territory, and organized under one government; people, territory, and government considered in combination; a nation.  
     See sovereign state.

2. A state of the United States. [1]

     Excerpt from Theodore D. Woolsey’s Introduction to the Study of International Law (5th ed. 1878):

     “A STATE is a community of persons living within certain limits of territory, under a permanent organization which aims to secure the prevalence of justice by self-imposed law.  The organ of the state by which its relations with other states are managed is the government.” [2]

     Excerpt from John Salmond’s Jurisprudence (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947):

     “A state or political society is an association of human beings established for the attainment of certain ends by certain means.  It is the most important of all the various kinds of society in which men unite, being indeed the necessary basis and condition of peace, order, and civilization.  What then is the difference between this and other forms of association?  In what does the state differ from such other societies as a church, a university, a joint-stock company, or a trade union?  The difference is clearly one of function.  The state must be defined by reference to such of its activities and purposes as are essential and characteristic.” [4]

     Excerpt from J.L. Brierly’s The Law of Nations (5th ed. 1955):

     “A state is an institution, that is to say, it is a system of relations which men establish among themselves as a means of securing certain objects, of which the most fundamental is a system of order within which their activities can be carried on.  Modern states are territorial; their governments exercise control over persons and things within their frontiers, and today the whole of the habitable world is divided between about seventy of these territorial states.  A state should not be confuse with the whole community of persons living on its territory; it is only one among a multitude of other institutions, such as churches and corporations, which a community establishes for securing different objects, though obviously it is one of tremendous importance; none the less it is not, except in the ideology of totalitarianism, an all-embracing institution, not something from which, or within which, all other institutions and associations have their being; many institutions, e.g. the Roman Catholic Church, an many associations, e.g. federations of employers and of workers, transcend the boundaries of any single state.” [5]

state law:
(18c)

1. A body of law in a particular state consisting of the state’s constitution, statutes, regulations, and common law.

State Law Consists of Two Parts:

   Excerpt from Edwin E. Bryant’s The Law of Pleading Under the Codes of Civil Procedure (2d ed. 1899):

     “The body of law in a State consists of two parts, substantive and adjective law.  The former prescribes those rules of civil conduct which declare the rights and duties of all who are subject to the law.  The latter relates to the remedial agencies and procedure by which rights are maintained their invasion redressed, and the methods by which such results are accomplished in judicial tribunals.“ [6]

Adjective Law – the body of rules governing procedure and practice (“procedural law”).

Substantive Law – creates, defines, and regulates the rights, duties, and powers of parties. [1]

Political Status of States:

Client State – a country that is obliged to cede some control of its external relations to some foreign power or powers.

Code State – a state that has procedurally merged law and equity into one system, and having only one form of civil action.

Composite State – a state that comprises an aggregate or group of constituent states.

• Federal State – wherein the sovereignty of the entire state is divided between the central or federal government and the local governments of the several constituent states, and the external international relations of all member states is handled by the central government.
• Imperial State – a composite state wherein the central government possesses sovereignty from and over the states.

Failed State – has lost of physical control of its territory, ability to provide reasonable public services, &/or having an erosion of legitimate authority.

Free State – a political community organized independently of all others.

Microstate – consists of a small territory and a small population and that is recognized as a state for international-law purposes.

Terms for a State Located along a Coast:

Coastal State – a country that borders on an ocean or sea.

Littoral State – a state that has a coast. [2]

state agency. A department, commission, board, committee, or body of any form operating as an instrumentality of the state government. [3]

References:

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