Questions about Nation state
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is a nation state and how does it differ from other types of states?
A nation state is a political entity in which the state - a centralised political organisation ruling over a population within a territory - and the nation - a community based on a common identity - are congruent. It differs from empires (which rule multiple peoples through conquest), multinational states (where no single ethnic group dominates), city-states (smaller units), and confederations (leagues of sovereign states).
When did the nation state emerge historically?
Historians and scholars of nationalism studies agree that the nineteenth century, after the age of revolutions, was the key period for the rise of nation states. Some scholars trace earlier roots to fifteenth-century advances in cartography, capitalism, and political economy, while Adrian Hastings argued that ancient Israel provided the earliest model of nationhood.
What role did the Treaty of Westphalia play in the development of nation states?
The Treaty of Westphalia, signed in 1648, established the Westphalian system of clearly defined, centrally controlled, independent states recognising each other's sovereignty and territory. The system did not create the nation state but created the conditions in which it could function, as the balance of power depended on legible, undisputed borders.
How did nation states use language policy to build national identity?
Nation states created national systems of compulsory primary education with uniform curricula, which was the most effective instrument for spreading national languages. Language prohibitions were sometimes used to suppress minority languages, a process documented across Anglicisation, Francisation, Germanisation, Russification, Turkification, and many other national projects.
What is irredentism and how does it relate to nation states?
Irredentism refers to demands by a nation state to annex territory beyond its borders that is inhabited by members of the national group, or that the nation claims on historical, linguistic, or cultural grounds. When states adopt irredentist demands, the result is typically hostile relations with neighbours, and actual annexation attempts are always considered a cause for war.
What did Samuel Huntington argue about the future of nation states in the clash of civilizations theory?
In a 1993 Foreign Affairs article titled "The Clash of Civilizations?", Huntington argued that nation states would remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but that the principal conflicts of global politics would occur between nations and groups of different civilisations along cultural and religious lines. He expanded this thesis in his 1996 book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.