A form of social organization characterized by a strong central government, socio-economic class divisions, and a market economy; the most complex form of social organization. Leadership is not based on kinship affiliation, though it may be. States are frequently marked by an armed force and a bureaucracy for recordkeeping. They often have very large populations, have cities and monumental architecture. Such a society retains many chiefdom characteristics in elaborated form, but also includes true political power sanctioned by legitimate force, and social integration through concepts of nationality and citizenship usually defined by territorial boundaries. A distinction can be drawn between primary states, those whose origin is independent of any contact with previously existing states, and secondary states, which arise from influences emanating from already established states. In cultural evolutionist models, it ranks second only to the empire as the most complex societal developmental stage.