Maslow’s Pyramid Reimagined: The Hierarchy of Nation-State Needs
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Authors
Abliatipova, Asiye
Date of Issue
2025-04-25
Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Subject Keywords
Other Titles
The Hierarchy of Nation-State Needs: From Basic Survival to Democratic Maturation and Intellectual Independence
Abstract
This study proposes a hierarchy of needs for states, similar to Maslow's psychological hierarchy, but adapted to analyze the development of national systems. The initial postulate is that a country must fully satisfy the needs of one level before it can effectively move to the next stage of development. The peculiarity of this model is that at the initial stages of development, a country's political system may not necessarily be democratic.
At the first level are physiological needs: access to food, clean drinking water, shelter, and electricity. Without these basic conditions, a country cannot provide the necessary platform for social stabilization. The study notes examples of countries struggling to meet physiological needs: Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, South Sudan, etc.
The next is security. The level refers to the absence of violent conflicts inside a state or those initiated outside of it. This stage includes Ukraine, Myanmar, Venezuela, etc.
The third level covers the development of education, science, and technology. I argue that non-democratic regimes like in Singapore or China allow the development of these areas.
The fourth level implies a transition to democratic governance structures. It is argued that increasing prosperity in society and the development of the knowledge economy, as a result of the advancement in education and technology, inevitably lead to demands for political freedom and civic participation. The examples include South Korea and Taiwan.
At the fifth and final level, a country reaches the stage of intellectual and philosophical self-realization. A country develops unique cultural and philosophical trends that have a great influence on world civilization.
The hierarchy represents a sequential path of development of a country, where successful satisfaction of needs at one level creates prerequisites for transition to the next stages.