This study, despite John Ralston Saul's assertion that "defining popular concepts is a familiar scholastic trap," presents the generally accepted definitions of the state and statehood, along with the main characteristics of the state, its functions, and its role in the formation of statehood as a system. Moreover, the study explores the connections between the main functions of the modern state, its obligations to guarantee national security, and the model for assessing national power. It consistently presents the basic definitions and modern understandings of the essence of the modern state, national security, and national power. Additionally, the study identifies a set of factors that underscore the dominant role of state power in international relations, the leading factors generating national power, and the most current changes in the security environment, covering the most comprehensive contemporary sources and variables for the formation of national power.
