Three powers of the State

The three powers a modern state has are the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial. It is commonly held that for a state to remain democratic, these powers must be separated and there must be checks and balances to prevent a single group from acquiring control over two or more of them. In countries with a turbulent political climate, this often results in a kind of cold war between the powers instead of the intended stalemate.

The press is commonly referred to as the fourth power due to its ability to influence and manipulate the political scene by the threat or exercise of its control of the public opinion.