A hierarchical state is a state organized as a chain of command, in which each level of government answers to the level above it and ultimate authority rests at the top.
Historical proponents:Plato, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelA country works best as a , where each level of government answers to the one above it.
Nothing is sent anywhere.
In a hierarchical, or strongly centralized, state, regional and local governments are administrative arms of the national government. The center can appoint or dismiss local officials, set rules for them and overrule their decisions. Unitary states such as France, Japan or China work broadly this way, though to very different degrees.
The opposite arrangement is a federal system, in which regional governments hold powers of their own that the center cannot simply take away, as in Germany, the United States or Switzerland. Few countries are purely one or the other: most mix elements, and modern unitary states often devolve real powers to regions.
Influential figures in the 12 axes thinker pool who advocated, analyzed or shaped ideas around this concept.
Athenian philosopher · 428/427–348/347 BC
An Athenian philosopher and student of Socrates who, in The Republic, pictured a just city ruled by those trained to know the good, and who distrusted democracy.
“The unified polis directs all social components toward civic harmony and justice.”
German idealist philosopher · 1770–1831
A German philosopher who read history as the unfolding of freedom and saw the modern constitutional state as the setting in which individuals find their ethical life.
“A unified constitutional state integrates civil society into rational ethical life.”
Real cases that people point to when they use the word.
France’s traditional model of a strong central state with prefects representing it in each department.
China’s system, in which local governments answer to higher levels and ultimately to the national leadership.
Japan’s prefectures, which operate within a framework set by the national government.
Reasonable people disagree about this. These are the strongest points made on each side.
The test asks about it in a statement. Your answer moves one axis score.
Agreeing that a country works best as a hierarchical state moves your score toward the Unitary side of the Federal vs Unitary axis.
Which way agreeing pushes the score
Agreeing with a statement about hierarchical state moves your score toward Unitary.
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Three statements gave you a first reading. The full test scores all twelve axes and finds your closest countries and ideologies.