До питання про роль насильства у державогенезі та бутті держави і права

The article is devoted to the role of violence in the state genesis and existence of state and law. It is indicated that violence is a constitutive feature of the state, power, law, and the civilized existence of society. It is recognized that historical experience convincingly indicates the violent nature of the state, power and law that arise from conquest or physical violence, which later can be transformed into economic violence. Attention is drawn to the fact that the violent nature of the state, power, and law is proven by a huge number of various inconspicuous facts. The main differences between the pre-state being and state being are outlined, which reflect the main features of the state. It has been noted that historically the oldest states were the Oriental despotisms and other slave-owning states of the Ancient World (Greece, Rome, etc.), which vividly reflects the true essence of the state.It is indicated that among the Germanic tribes, state genesis occurred through the transition from the tribal system to the early feudal system and was accompanied by the transformation of the elected military power of the tribal chiefs into the hereditary power of the kings, which indicates the violent nature of power, the monopoly of which the military class (knights, nobles, officers) retained until the XIX – XX centuries. It is noted that one of the oldest functions of the state is justice, that is, the implementation of state-organized violence against offenders, while the gradual displacement of lynching and blood feud finally secures the state’s monopoly on violence, which reflects its essence. It has been noted that the underdevelopment of the state’s monopoly on violence, the lack of force and state violence, and the degeneration of the ruling class that perpetrates violence, lead the state and society to the collapse. Attention is drawn to the fact that the violent nature of the state and power is confirmed by such defining features of law as universal obligation and guaranteeing by the state coercion; at the same time, law and order, ensured by the state monopoly on violence, are the key to a peaceful and civilized existence of society, and an important goal of law is to determine the forms and extent of violence and regulate its use by the state. It is indicated that international law is not a law, since it is not ensured by state coercion and is not universally binding; in fact, it represents only the agreed will of the subjects of international communication, that is, it is purely voluntary and usually has no effective mechanisms of protection. It is noted that the violent nature is inherent to all states, both totalitarian-authoritarian and liberal-democratic, which follows from the very nature of power, while only individual aspects of violence may differ. It has been clarified that violence was, is and will be the fundamental principle of the formation and existence of any state and law; at the same time, the lack of state violence or challenging the state’s monopoly on violence entails a huge danger for society, etc. Therefore, the positive and progressive significance of violence in the state genesis and in the existence of the state and law is difficult to overestimate.