Városállam

Városállam, literally "city-state," denotes a sovereign political entity that consists of a single city and its surrounding territory. The term is used both in historical and contemporary contexts to describe compact political units that exercise full state functions—legislation, taxation, defense, and diplomacy—within their limited geographic boundary. The concept is rooted in ancient Greece, where cities such as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth developed into independent polities with their own governments and military forces.

In the classical era, Greek city-states (poleis) were the chief form of organization, each acting as an autonomous community. They frequently fought each other, allied in leagues such as the Delian League, and competed for influence across the Mediterranean. The Roman Republic, though larger, began as a city-state before expanding into a vast empire. In medieval Europe, city-states like Venice, Genoa, and the Italian city communes wielded considerable economic and political power, operating under a citizen guild-based governance system.

In the modern period, true city-states have become rare, but examples persist. Singapore, with its island geography and robust sovereign governance, is often cited as a contemporary city-state. Other sovereign city entities include Monaco, Vatican City, and the State of Palestine’s capital, East Jerusalem, which in practical terms functions as a city-level sovereign region. These modern examples maintain full state responsibilities while remaining geographically confined to a single urban area.

Scholars analyze városállam patterns to study the relationship between urban density, governance efficiency, and political autonomy. While the majority of the world’s nations have expanded beyond the constraints of a single city, the city-state model continues to provide a distinctive framework for examining how concentrated political and economic power can be organized within a small territory. The concept remains relevant for discussions of urban sovereignty, microstates, and the organization of political authority in densely populated environments.