What Is a "Nation"?

1. Nation: a large group of people linked by a similar

culture, language, and history
2. State: a political unit that has sovereignty over a
particular piece of land
3. Nation-State: a state that rules over a single nation

Because the nation-state dominates so much political

discourse, many political scientists specialize in
understanding how nation-states work internally, as well as
how they relate to one another.

Nation is a large group of people who are linked by a

similar culture, language, and history. Members of some
nations share an ethnicity (almost everyone in South Korea
is Korean, for example), whereas other nations consist of
ethnically diverse groups of people (the United Kingdom, the
United States, Australia, and Singapore, for instance).
However, the members of a nation see themselves as
connected. Fellow members are often regarded as part of an
extended family. Many members of a nation take pride in
being a part of something bigger than themselves as
individuals, and they celebrate their nation.
Example: In common speech, we use the term nation to
describe a collection of people with something in common. For
example, some people refer to the “Red Sox Nation,” consisting
of all those who root for the Boston Red Sox. The term is used
even more often as a synonym for country, which is technically
incorrect.
People disagree about what counts as a nation. Nationhood
sometimes transcends geographical boundaries. Some
groups consider themselves to be nations, even though much
of the world does not consider them that way. Kurds, for
example, live in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, but many Kurds
believe they belong to a Kurdish nation. Also, members of a
nation frequently differ in a variety of ways, including
speaking different languages and participating in different
cultural practices.

Nation-States
Political scientists use the term Nation-State to refer to
modern countries and their political apparatuses. A nation-
state is a state that rules over a single nation. France, for
example, is a nation-state, as is Japan. The people in both
countries overwhelmingly share a common language,
history, and culture. The term nation-state reflects the
situation in which the boundaries of a state coincide with the
geographical area occupied by a nation. There are also states
that are not nations—such as Switzerland, whose citizens
speak four different languages and have varied cultures. And
there are nations that are not states, such as Kurdistan, a
region in the Middle East lacking firm borders that is
occupied by Kurds, but it is not considered to be an
independent state by its neighboring nations of Syria and
Turkey.
The Characteristics of a Nation:
1. It is descended from one head. Others may be
occasionally grafted on the original stock by
intermarriage. But there is a vital union subsisting
between all the members and the head, in
consequence of which the name of the head is
applied to the whole body of the nation. In the case of
Kittim and Dodanim we seem to have the national
name thrown back upon the patriarchs who may
have themselves been called Keth and Dodan. Similar
instances occur in the subsequent parts of the
genealogy.

2. A nation has a country or "land" which it calls its

own. In the necessary migrations of ancient tribes,
the new territories appropriated by the tribe, or any
part of it, were naturally called by the old name, or
some name belonging to the old country. This is well
illustrated by the name of Gomer, which seems to
reappear in the Cimmerii, the Cimbri, the Cymry, the
Cambri, and the Cumbri.

3. A nation has its own "tongue." This constitutes at

once its unity in itself and its separation from others.
Many of the nations in the table may have spoken
cognate tongues, or even originally the same tongue.
Thus the Kenaanite, Phoenician and Punic nations
 had the same stock of languages with the Shemites.
But it is a uniform law, that one nation has only one
speech within itself.

4. A nation is composed of many "families," clans, or

tribes. These branch off from the nation in the same
manner as it did from the parent stock of the race.

Compose by : Areesh amad.

What is the importance of a nation?
I think that the importance of a nation as a functioning and
cohesive unit can be seen in the case of post- Revolution
America. After gaining independence from England, America
adopted the Articles of Confederation as its governing
constitution. This document pretty much defined the nation
as a "loose confederation of states. " States were able to act
in opposition to one another and there was nothing in terms
of acting in concert or convergence towards a national
identity present. Part of this was a result of the fears of the
framers in repeating the same conditions of tyranny as
existed with King George and England. Yet, while the states
had freedom, they lacked a national identity or the need to
seek national consensus. This could be seen in the federal
government's inability to raise taxes and generate revenue,
sorely needed to pay off a debt from the American
Revolution. At the same time, the lack of a national focus
made the new confederation susceptible to threats from
other nations. Finally, when Shays' Rebellion grew in force
and magnitude, there was not a coordinated and concerned
national response to such an uprising.

I think that this is where one sees the importance of a

nation. The need for individual states to act with a singular
purpose, while being able to express their own individuality
contributes to a stronger vision. This is where tranquility
can emerge and prosperous foundation can be
present. When there is a lack of this national focus, greater
risks to these elements are present.
Nationalism, What It Means:
Nationalism is a system created by people who believe
their nation is superior to all others. Most often, this
sense of superiority has its roots in a shared ethnicity.
Other countries build nationalism around a shared
language, religion, culture, or set of social values. The
nation emphasizes shared symbols, folklore, and
mythology. Shared music, literature, and sports may
further strengthen nationalism.
How does nationalism work? Nationalists demand to
be independent of other countries. They don't join
global organizations or collaborate with other
countries on joint efforts. If the people are part of
another nation, then they will want freedom and their
own state.
Because they believe in the superiority of their shared
attribute, nationalists often stereotype different
ethnic, religious, or cultural groups. The resultant
prejudice keeps their nation unified. Intolerance can
lead to a desire to rid the country of those deemed as
"different." In an extreme form, it can lead to ethnic
cleansing and genocide.
Nationalists work toward a self-governing state. Their
government controls aspects of the economy to
promote the nation’s self-interest. It sets policies that
strengthen the domestic entities that own the factors
of production. These four factors are capital goods,
entrepreneurship, natural resources, and labor.
Nationalists also don’t care whether the government
or private businesses own the factors, as long as they
make the nation stronger.

Differences between State and Nation

1. A state is sometimes used as a synonymn for nation
or country.
2. States together, form a nation.
3. A nation can be defined as a politico-cultural entity,
which is identified by its unique character and
collective rights. On the contrary, a state can be
defined as a politico-judicial entity, which is identified
by its sovereign rights.
4. A nation can be defined as group of people who are
bound together into a single body, through history,
customs, value, language, culture, tradition, art and
religion. A state can be defined as a patch of land with
a sovereign government.
5. A nation can be refered to as the holder of
soverignity.
6. Policies pertaining to national interest are taken by
the government at the national level, but the state
governments cannot formlate such policies.
7. The word ‘nation’ has been derived from the latin
‘natio’, which means a ‘set of people’. State is a word
that has been derived from the Latin ‘Status’, which
means ‘status’ or ‘condition’.
8. Sovereignty is essential for State but not for Nation.
9. Nation can be wider than the State.
10. A State can be created while a Nation is always the
result of evolution.
Compose by : Areesh amad.