I think an ingredient, however small, you might be missing to complete your definition is the concept of "ritual" or "formality". It is, as far as I can see, the degree of ritualization of legitimized aggression that separates states from such proto-states as ISIS and (for example) the 2020 looters. This is a difference in degree rather than kind, yes, but I think it's the difference that counts. I think your article already implies as much, but I just wanted to explicate ritual as the highest form of legitimization.
More importantly, I think it is ritual that leads to people thinking of states as monopolies and thus speaking of "the" state or "the" government. Having genuinely competing "entities whose primary purpose/function is to provide ritualized aggression" (my definition of statehood, quite similar to yours) in a single area is not very stable in general (Hoppe makes the good argument of aggression tending towards centralization, especially with Europe over the past centuries) much less so when it comes to ritual. Even the mafia and yakuza know this, and recreate feudalism with their "families" and their subdivisions each monopolistically controlling an area of land, not to mention countless disputes over gang turf. As a "state" gets better at monopolizing its area, it can afford much more ritual; consider a mob boss who has a significant chance of being whacked over a deal gone bad versus the POTUS, who will very likely serve an exact four or eight years continuing in that office. Guess which one has more time and resources to devote towards armies, bureaucrats, and "Hail to the Chief"? This creates a positive feedback loop, with the rituals of, for example, civil service, census taking, and tax day creating a stable "deep state" structure that snuffs out any opposition much better than any hitman. A possibly immediate counterexample would be federal entities like the US, with federal, state, and local governments, but that in turn is quite like the quasi-feudal mafia family structure I mentioned above.
Great article, I just wanted to add my two cents. Hope I didn't ramble too much!
I think an ingredient, however small, you might be missing to complete your definition is the concept of "ritual" or "formality". It is, as far as I can see, the degree of ritualization of legitimized aggression that separates states from such proto-states as ISIS and (for example) the 2020 looters. This is a difference in degree rather than kind, yes, but I think it's the difference that counts. I think your article already implies as much, but I just wanted to explicate ritual as the highest form of legitimization.
More importantly, I think it is ritual that leads to people thinking of states as monopolies and thus speaking of "the" state or "the" government. Having genuinely competing "entities whose primary purpose/function is to provide ritualized aggression" (my definition of statehood, quite similar to yours) in a single area is not very stable in general (Hoppe makes the good argument of aggression tending towards centralization, especially with Europe over the past centuries) much less so when it comes to ritual. Even the mafia and yakuza know this, and recreate feudalism with their "families" and their subdivisions each monopolistically controlling an area of land, not to mention countless disputes over gang turf. As a "state" gets better at monopolizing its area, it can afford much more ritual; consider a mob boss who has a significant chance of being whacked over a deal gone bad versus the POTUS, who will very likely serve an exact four or eight years continuing in that office. Guess which one has more time and resources to devote towards armies, bureaucrats, and "Hail to the Chief"? This creates a positive feedback loop, with the rituals of, for example, civil service, census taking, and tax day creating a stable "deep state" structure that snuffs out any opposition much better than any hitman. A possibly immediate counterexample would be federal entities like the US, with federal, state, and local governments, but that in turn is quite like the quasi-feudal mafia family structure I mentioned above.
Great article, I just wanted to add my two cents. Hope I didn't ramble too much!