# Civilization state

Part of the Politics series :
Basic forms of government :
List of forms · List of countries :
Source of power
Democracy (rule by many)
Demarchy
Direct
Economic
Liberal
Representative
Social
Socialist
Others
Oligarchy (rule by few)
Anocracy
Aristocracy
Gerontocracy
Kleptocracy
Kritarchy
Meritocracy
Noocracy
Particracy
Plutocracy
Stratocracy
Technocracy
Theocracy
Autocracy (rule by one)
Despotism
Dictatorship
Military dictatorship
Tyranny
Anarchy (rule by none)
Anarchism
Free association
Stateless :
Power ideology
MonarchyRepublic (socio-political ideologies)
Absolute
Communist
Constitutional
Directorial
Legalist
Parliamentary
Presidential
Semi-presidential
AuthoritarianLibertarian (socio-economic ideologies)
Anarchism
Colonialism
Communism
Despotism
Distributism
Fascism
Feudalism
Socialism
Totalitarianism
Tribalism
ReligiousSecular
State religion
Secular state
Separation of church and state
State atheism
GlobalLocal (geo-cultural ideologies)
City-state
Intergovernmental organisation
National government
World government
Nationalism
Internationalism
Globalism :
Power structure
Unitarism
Unitary state
Empire
Principality
Client state
Associated state
Dependent territory
Dominion
Protectorate
Puppet state
Puppet monarch
Satellite state
Self-governing colony
Tributary state
Buffer state
Vassal state
Viceroyalty
Federalism
Confederation
Devolution
Federation
Superstate
Supranational union
International relations
Small power
Middle power
Regional power
Emerging power
Great power
Superpower :
Related
Administrative division
Democracy indices
Democratic transition
Autocratization
Democratisation
Hybrid regimes :
Politics portal :
vte :
A civilization state, or civilizational state, is a country that aims to represent not just a historical territory, ethnolinguistic group, or body of governance, but a unique civilization in its own right. It is distinguished from the concept of a nation state by describing a country's dominant sociopolitical modes as constituting a category larger than a single nation. When classifying states as civilization states, emphasis is often placed on a country's historical continuity and cultural unity across a large geographic region.
The term was first coined in the 1990s as a way to describe China and later India, but has also been used to describe countries such as Egypt, Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United States.
The term has been popularized by Bruno Maçães in a series of essays since 2018.

## China as a civilization state

The term "civilization-state" was first used by American political scientist Lucian Pye in 1990 to categorize China as having a distinct sociopolitical character, as opposed to viewing it as a nation state in the European model. The use of this new term implies that China was and still is an "empire state" with a unique political tradition and governmental structure, and its proponents asserted that the nation state model fails to properly describe the evolution of the Chinese state. Proponents of the label describe China as having a unique historical and cultural unity, derived from a continuous process of cultural syncretism. The term was further popularized by its use in When China Rules the World by British political scientist Martin Jacques.
According to Li Xing and Timothy M. Shaw, the central feature of analyzing China as a civilization state is the view that the Chinese state derives its legitimacy from the continuation of a sociopolitical order which posits that the state maintains natural authority over its subjects, and that it is the "guardian" of both its citizens and their society, a view of the state that is completely distinct from the Westphalian nation-state model. Other scholars make the case that the key features of a civilization-state are the maintenance of an ethos of cultural unity despite displaying significant cultural diversity, across centuries of history and a large geographic space. Some specifically draw attention to the longevity of the Chinese writing system, or describe China's existence as being uniquely and inexorably tied to the past.
Guang Xia pushes back on the idea of the uniqueness of a Chinese civilization-state. Xia argues that civilization-state discourse in China studies is an important and positive development, as it allows for characteristics of the modern Chinese state to be properly analyzed in the context of their history. However, Xia concludes that ultimately, all civilizations must reinvent themselves in the context of their history, and that it is a mistake to view China as a static entity or to portray it as being more tied to its past than the rest of the world.

## India, Egypt and other proposed civilization states
### Egypt

By creating a civilizational continuation between ancient Egypt and contemporary Egypt with its Muslim characteristics, Egypt is another example of a civilization state that centers its continuous historical and cultural identity and tradition that contrast the West's global cultural dominance.

### India

India is another example of a civilization state, with political commentators arguing that a shared Indian identity predates British colonization and Islamic invasions. India as a Hindu majority state, is perhaps the only nation that still follows a religion which dates back to the Bronze Age, i.e. Hinduism. It is suggested by some scholars, taking support of archaeological evidences together with analogy of later cult divinities and religious practices, that roots of Hinduism could be diagnosed in the Bronze Age civilization.

### Russia

Vladimir Putin's administration has at times embraced the rhetoric of portraying Russia as a distinct Eurasian civilization-state.

## Criticism

British journalist Gideon Rachman argued in a 2019 article that the concept of a civilization state is at odds with modern conceptions of universal human rights and common democratic standards, and is inherently exclusive to minority groups who do not share the feature(s) that define a particular civilization state (for example, they may have a different religion).