though, as I said, the questions concern their nature and scope. It is not particularly controversial to say of the regimes of Nazi Germany, the former Soviet Union, China, Iraq, etc. that they violated the rights to life, liberty, and possessions of many. States typically claim sovereignty and exclusive rights to use force. Individuals are not supposed to use force without the state's permission. It is often argued that states have the particular task of ensuring that we do not individually need to use force (eg. to protect ourselves) If this is true then states may consequently have the provision of justice as one of their main tasks. Restrictions on one's capacity to use force might not be advantageous or justified except as part of a package that offered one better protection. Justice may then require of states not only that they respect the constraints of justice but also that they provide justice. What might be involved in a state's provision of justice? Typically states create and enforce laws, adjudicate disputes, and provide mechanisms for collective decisions; they also seek to effect distributive justice.