Although the state did not invent the culture of war, according to some theories the state originated through war. Since then it has monopolized war; according to one classic definition, the state is the organization that holds a "monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory."
The latest in a long history of attempts to reform the state and make it an agent of peace instead of war is the initiative, now being taken in many countries to institutionalize a national ministry of peace.
Some have tried to create a "culture of peace index" to compare countries on the extent to which they promote the eight programme areas of a culture of peace.
Initiatives to achieve a culture of peace through reform of the state tend to overlook the function of the culture of war that enables the state to maintain power within its own territory.
Those who would measure a culture of peace index at the level of states usually do not consider internal intervention or the profits obtained from the export of armaments and violent media and the unequal terms of international trade which maintain the gap between rich and poor countries.
