Everything about City State totally explained
A
city-state is a
region controlled exclusively by a
city, usually having
sovereignty. Historically, city-states have often been contingent of larger cultural areas, as in the city-states of
ancient Greece (such as
Athens,
Sparta and
Corinth), the
Phoenician cities of
Canaan (such as
Tyre and
Sidon), the
Mayans of pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica (including
sites such as
Chichen Itza and
El Mirador), the
central Asian cities along the
Silk Road (which includes
Samarkand and
Bukhara), or the
city-states of Northern Italy (especially
Florence and
Venice). More recently the neologism
citistate has been developed, referring to the city as the center of a 'city region' including relocated
urban business like factory and company towns, and supply economies like agricultural, timber and mineral extraction whose commodities find a market in the city. The term "city-state" shouldn't be confused with "
independent city", which refers to a city which isn't administered as part of another
local government area (eg, a
county).
Among the most creative periods in human history is when the Greek city-states, and the city-states of Renaissance Italy organized themselves in small independent centers. The success of small regional units coexisting as disunited parts of loose geographical and cultural unity, as in Italy or Hellas (Greece), acted as a barrier to the creation of larger national units with greater staying power. However, these small groupings usually only survived for short periods because they lacked the size and strength to defend themselves against the onslaught of larger groups. Thus, they inevitably gave way to larger organizations of society, the empire and eventually the
nation-state.
Whereas the nation-states rely on invented or common heritage — commonly linguistic, historical, religious, economic, etc — the city-state relies on the common interest in the well functioning urban center. The urban center and its activity supplies the livelihoods of all urbanites inhabiting the city-state.
Today,
Singapore,
Monaco and the
Vatican City are the only sovereign states which bear any resemblance to the classical definition of a city-state.
Several sovereign countries have self-governing areas delineated around cities. The typical case are nations with a federal administrative structure that have granted their capitals a special status outside that structure; examples are
Washington, D.C. (coterminous with the
District of Columbia) in the
United States,
Brasília (coterminous with the
Brazilian Federal District),
Mexico City (being the
Mexican Federal District) and
Canberra (part of the
Australian Capital Territory). In nations without a federal administrative structure, capital cities sometimes enjoy a greater degree of autonomy, for example
London. In
Germany,
Berlin has been a federal state
(Land) of its own since 1990, but, unlike the above, remains inside the general administrative structure. (Note but this has nothing to do with its being the capital; the cities of
Hamburg and
Bremen have an identical status and look back on a much longer history of political independence.) A similar situation can be found in
Austria, where the capital
Vienna has the status of a state within the Austrian federation of states.
Yet another case are
Hong Kong and
Macau, currently
Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Neither capitals nor, arguably, even cities, their temporary, relative political independence results from agreements between China and the colonial powers that formerly controlled them.
Ancient city-states
City-states were common in
ancient times. Though sovereign, many such cities joined in formal or informal
leagues under a
high king. In some cases, historical empires or leagues were formed by the
right of conquest (for example,
Mycenae, or
Rome), but many were formed under peaceful alliances or for mutual protection (for example, the
Peloponnesian League).
Examples include:
The Middle Ages and the early-modern era
In the
Middle Ages, city-states were particularly a feature of what are now
Germany,
Italy and
Russia. A number of them formed the
Hanseatic League, which was a significant force in trade for a number of centuries.
The Holy Roman Empire
» For further details, see under: Imperial Free City.
During the long history of the
Holy Roman Empire, dozens of towns and cities obtained local independence. By the late
18th century, their number had slowly been reduced to around 50, but almost all were eliminated ("
mediatized") in
1803; in 1815, once peace had returned at the end of the
Napoleonic era, only
Bremen,
Hamburg,
Lübeck and
Frankfurt remained independent. Those four cities became members of the
German Confederation (effectively the Holy Roman Empire's successor). Frankfurt was annexed by
Prussia in 1866, while Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen joined the
North German Confederation in
1867 (and then the
German Empire). Hamburg and Bremen continued until today as states in the modern
Federal Republic of Germany, while Lübeck lost its independence in
1937 due to the
Greater Hamburg Act.
Netherlands
In the time of the Dutch Golden Age of the Seventeenth Century, many Dutch cities - and especially Amsterdam, the biggest and richest of them - exhibited many of the characteristics of city-states, maintaining their own militias and navies and often conducting their own policies and pursuing specific political and commercial interests, with little regard for the rest of the Netherlands.
This was exemplified in the Amsterdam Town Hall erected at the time on the Dam Square, which was sumptuous enough to be later converted into a Royal Palace (which it still is), and having among its decorations a giant painting of Imperial Amsterdam depicted as an enthroned Queen, served by three female slaves representing Asia, Africa and America.
The recent past
In the
19th and
20th centuries, a variety of changing political circumstances left several self-governing city-states as
enclaves surrounded by the territory of another state. In Europe, they've included
Kraków,
Fiume,
Danzig,
Memel and
Trieste. On the edges of Europe they've included
Batumi and
Tangiers. Elsewhere in the world,
European colonialism resulted in a number of tiny colonies that were no bigger than a port and its immediate surroundings, such as
Hong Kong,
Macau,
Pondicherry,
Singapore,
Weihai, and others.
Contemporary city-states
Today there are only a handful of cities which exercise authority akin to a sub-regional state (like
Washington DC,
Macau or
Berlin), and even fewer which are sovereign states in their own right (like
Singapore or
Monaco).
Sovereign city-states
Monaco
The
Principality of Monaco is another example of a city-state:
Monaco-Ville (the ancient fortified city, which isn't a city even though its name means "Monaco-City") and the well known area
Monte Carlo are actually districts, not cities. The territory of the country corresponds to the city limits (one government and one town hall, each having specific powers): the Principality of Monaco and the city of Monaco. However, due to its small land area and population size, Monaco isn't a fully sovereign state. In July 1918, a treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, part of the Treaty of Versailles, established that Monegasque policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests. Only in 1993 did Monaco become a member of the United Nations, with full voting rights. In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco clarifies that if there are no heirs to carry on the dynasty, the principality will remain an independent nation rather than revert to France (which were the terms of the previous arrangement). Monaco's military defense, however, is still the responsibility of France. Monaco didn't receive its first foreign ambassador, the French ambassador, until 16 February 2006. While Monaco can't now be disputed to be a sovereign state in a
de jure sense, its dependency on France means it can be regarded as a European
microstate.
Singapore
Singapore is an island city-state in
Southeast Asia. About 4.5 million people live and work within 700 square kilometers, making Singapore the
fourth most densely populated country in the world. The entire island functions as a single
metropolitan area. The
city centre in the south of the island is surrounded by
satellite towns,
parks,
reservoirs and
industrial estates, which are connected to the centre and each other by a dense network of
roads,
expressways and
metro railway lines. Singapore has a highly centralised,
unitary government with a
unicameral legislature. While there are
town councils and
mayors in Singapore, these are essentially
property managers in charge of the maintenance of
public housing within their
constituency boundaries. They don't represent
local authorities with any
legislative or
executive autonomy from the national government.
Prior to the 19th century, Singapore was a minor part of various regional
empires, including
Srivijaya,
Majapahit,
Malacca and
Johor. From 1826 to the
Japanese conquest, Singapore was the
capital of the
Straits Settlements, a British colony that included the Settlements of
Malacca and
Penang along the
Straits of Malacca. After the
Second World War, Singapore was hived off as a separate colony while the other two Settlements joined the
Malay States to form the
Federation of Malaya. In 1963, Singapore merged with Malaya,
Sabah and
Sarawak to form
Malaysia. However, due to a number of
problems, Singapore left the federation in 1965, becoming an independent republic.
Since 1965, Singapore rapidly industrialised and modernised, becoming one of the four "
Asian Tigers". In addition to the substantial
absolute and
per-capita size of its
economy, Singapore maintains a significant
armed forces. It ranks highly in terms of
defence spending and
troop size. Singapore may be a small country, but it's a medium to large sized developed city. Despite its small land area, Singapore therefore has a population, economy and armed forces that place it in a similar league to small but full fledged nations like
New Zealand,
Ireland,
Israel and the
Nordic countries, rather than semi-independent
micro-states. Singapore also maintains a network of
diplomatic representation around the world, including membership of international organizations like the
UN, the
Commonwealth and
ASEAN. Singapore places emphasis on self-sufficiency in basic needs, like water. The government also stockpiles other key resources, such as sand and oil. In this way, Singapore tries to avoid over dependence economically, politically or militarily on larger entities. As such, Singapore may represent the most complete contemporary example of a city-state, meeting the full definitions of both a
city and a fully
sovereign state.
Vatican City
Until 1870, the city of
Rome had been controlled by the
pope as part of his "
papal states". When King
Victor Emmanuel II annexed the city in 1870,
Pope Pius IX refused to recognize the newly-formed
Kingdom of Italy. Because he couldn't travel through a place that he didn't admit existed, Pius IX and his successors each claimed to be a "
Prisoner in the Vatican", unable to leave the 0.44 km² (0.17-square mile) papal
enclave once they'd ascended the papal throne.
The impasse was resolved in 1929 by the
Lateran Treaties negotiated by the Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini between
King Victor Emmanuel III and
Pope Pius XI. Under this treaty, the Vatican was recognized as an independent state, with the pope as its head. The
Vatican City State has its own
citizenship,
diplomatic corps,
flag, and postal system. With a population of less than 1000, it's by far the smallest sovereign country in the world, and widely recognized internationally as such.
Non-sovereign city states
City of London
Although the City of London isn't commonly considered a city-state, it does have a unique political status (
sui generis), a legacy of its uninterrupted integrity as a corporate city since the Anglo Saxon period and its singular relationship with the Crown. Historically its system of government wasn't unusual, but it wasn't reformed by the
Municipal Reform Act 1835.
It is administered by the
City of London Corporation, headed by the
Lord Mayor of the City of London (not the same post as the more recent
Mayor of London, who presides over Greater London). The City is a
ceremonial county too, although instead of having its own
Lord-Lieutenant, the City of London has a Commission, headed by the Lord Mayor, exercising this function.
Washington, D.C.
Not being part of any U.S. state, Washington, D.C.'s government operates as a city and state combined, although it isn't a US state of its own. The city is run by an elected mayor (
Adrian Fenty) and a
city council. The council is composed of 13 members: one elected from each of the
eight wards and five members, including the chairman, elected at large. The council conducts its work through standing committees and special committees established as needed. District schools are administered by a chancellor, who is appointed by the mayor; in addition, a Superintendent of Education and a Board of Education are responsible for setting some educational policies. There are 37 elected
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that provide the most direct access for residents to their local government. The commissions are elected by small neighborhood districts, and their suggestions are required to be given "great weight" by the D.C. Council and city agencies. However, the U.S. Congress has the ultimate plenary power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule laws created locally and has often done so. The
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which grants to states all rights not belonging to the federal government, doesn't apply to the District of Columbia.
D.C. residents pay federal
taxes, such as
income tax, as well as local taxes. The mayor and council adopt a budget, which Congress has the right to change. Much property in the District (an estimated 41 percent) is owned by the Federal government, foreign governments, or tax-exempt organizations and hence is exempt from local property taxes. In addition, attempts by the District government to impose an income tax on suburban commuters who work in the city have been disallowed by Congress. The city, however, does receive about 25 percent of its budget from the federal government, part of which is to pay for "state"-level costs that cities normally don't bear and part of which are categorical grants (Medicaid, for example) that also go to all states.
Historically, the city's perennially Democratic-controlled local government has earned something of a reputation for mismanagement and waste, particularly during the mayoralty of
Marion Barry. A front-page story in the
July 21,
1997 Washington Post reported that Washington had some of the highest cost, lowest quality services in the entire region, including a high-cost school system with excessive administrative staff but shabby schools and low learning standards. Despite prosperity and budget surpluses in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the city still faces daunting
urban renewal, housing, public health and public education challenges.
Other examples
As well as the above sovereign states, the term "city-state" can also refer to states within federations such as the
German states of
Berlin,
Hamburg and, though consisting of two separate cities,
Bremen; the
Austrian state of
Vienna; the
Russian cities of
Moscow and
Saint Petersburg; the
Ethiopian
chartered cities (
astedader akababiwach) of
Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa; and the
Spanish ciudades autónomas of
Ceuta and
Melilla. Constitutionally, the British overseas territory of
Gibraltar is a city.
Buenos Aires is also an Autonomous City, not belonging to any province and actually self-governed, with its own status roughly similar to that of Washington D.C. in the USA.
In
China, the term is sometimes used for the
Special Administrative Regions of
Hong Kong and
Macau, due to their long histories as
colonies of the
British and
Portuguese respectively; while neither are legally defined as cities, they enjoy an equivalent status to a province within China, with a high degree of
autonomy.
Countries that have a very high proportion of their population within a single city, such as
Kuwait and
Djibouti, are sometimes referred to as virtual or near city-states, especially when they're relatively small in total land area; however, city-states are not small nation-states.
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