Nation state
A nation state is a political entity where the state and the nation are broadly congruent. This term describes a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory that shares a common identity. A country or state does not need to have a predominant national or ethnic group to exist, but a nation-state specifically implies this alignment. Some dispersed nations like the Roma do not have a state where their ethnicity predominates. An empire differs as it comprises several territories and peoples established through conquest with a dominant center and subordinate peripheries. A multinational state exists when no single ethnic or cultural group dominates its population. City-states remain smaller than large sovereign countries and may be dominated by all or part of a single nation in the sense of common ethnicity.
The origins and early history of nation-states remain disputed among scholars. Steven Weber, David Woodward, Michel Foucault, and Jeremy Black advanced the hypothesis that the nation-state arose from 15th-century intellectual discoveries in political economy and geography combined with advances in map-making technologies. Other theories suggest the nation existed first before nationalist movements arose for sovereignty to create the nation-state. Modernization theories see it as a product of government policies to unify and modernize an already existing state. Most theories identify the nation-state as a 19th-century European phenomenon facilitated by state-mandated education and mass media. Historians note the early emergence of relatively unified states in Portugal and the Dutch Republic. Adrian Hastings argued that Ancient Israel gave the world the model of nationhood even after Jews lost this status for nearly two millennia following the fall of Jerusalem. Eric Hobsbawm argues that the establishment of a French nation resulted from policies implemented by pre-existing French states rather than French nationalism which emerged later. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 established the Westphalian system of states often called the modern system of states.
Nation-states use the state as an instrument of national unity in economic social and cultural life. They promoted economic unity by abolishing internal customs and tolls. In Germany the creation of the Zollverein preceded formal national unity. Nation states typically have more centralized and uniform public administration than their imperial predecessors. The most apparent impact is creating a uniform national culture through state policy. Language and cultural policy was sometimes hostile aimed at suppressing non-national elements. The introduction of conscription and laws on public instruction facilitated the creation of a national identity under this theory. Schools taught national history often in a propagandistic and mythologized version. Language prohibitions were used to accelerate the adoption of national languages and the decline of minority languages. Processes like Anglicisation Bulgarization and Russification accelerated the adoption of national languages. Where it worked the cultural uniformity and homogeneity of the population increased. Conversely the cultural divergence at the border became sharper with divergent language policy and educational systems enforcing that model.
Israel was established in May 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people. Its Basic Laws define itself as a center of Jewish cultural and national identity while maintaining citizenship for all religious backgrounds. According to Israel Central Bureau of Statistics 75.7% of its population are Jews. Arabs make up 20.4% of the population as the largest ethnic minority. Belgium serves as a classic example of a state that is not a nation-state divided between Flemings in the north and French-speaking populations in the south. The Flemish population speaks Dutch while the Walloon population speaks either French or German. The Kingdom of the Netherlands presents an unusual example where one kingdom represents four distinct countries including Aruba Curaçao and Sint Maarten alongside the Netherlands. Spain illustrates how political union preceded the creation of a Spanish nation-state through the imposition of Castilian characteristics over other ethnic groups. The Decrees of Nueva Planta assimilated the Crown of Aragon by the Castilian Crown starting in 1714. The United Kingdom formed initially by the merger of two independent kingdoms the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland via the Treaty of Union in 1707 ensures continuation of distinct features like separate legal systems.
The most obvious deviation from the ideal of one nation one state is the presence of minorities especially ethnic minorities clearly not members of the majority nation. Historical examples of groups singled out as outsiders include the Roma and Jews in Europe. Negative responses to minorities within the nation state have ranged from cultural assimilation enforced by the state to expulsion persecution violence and extermination. Violence against minorities can occur in the form of mob violence such as lynching or pogroms. Nation states are responsible for some of the worst historical examples of violence against minorities not considered part of the nation. When national boundaries that do not match ethnic boundaries are drawn ethnic tension massacres and even genocide sometimes occurred historically. The Sorbs in Germany serve as an example where they have lived in German-speaking states surrounded by a much larger ethnic German population and are now generally considered part of the German nation. Multiculturalism is an official policy in some states establishing the ideal of coexisting existence among multiple and separate ethnic groups. Other states prefer interculturalism citing problems with multiculturalism promoting self-segregation tendencies among minority groups.
In principle the border of a nation state would extend far enough to include all members of the nation and all of the national homeland. However in practice some members always live on the wrong side of the border. Part of the national homeland may be there too governed by the wrong nation. Irredentist claims usually arise when an identifiable part of the national group lives across the border. They can also include claims to territory where no members of that nation live at present because they lived there in the past. Past grievances usually involve revanchism and cause long-term hostile relations between neighboring states. Irredentist movements typically circulate maps of the claimed national territory which plays a central role in their propaganda. When adopted by a state these demands typically result in tensions and actual attempts at annexation are always considered a casus belli for war. Pan-Germanism included confusing terms like Grossdeutschland implying inclusion of huge Slavic minorities from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Some French overseas colonies treated Algeria as a département of France but this rule was unsuccessful.
It has been speculated by proponents of globalization and science fiction writers that the concept of a nation state may disappear with increasing interconnectedness of the world. Such ideas are sometimes expressed around concepts of a world government or communal anarchy. The theory of the clash of civilizations lies in direct contrast to cosmopolitan theories about an ever more connected world. Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington formulated his thesis originally in a 1992 lecture at the American Enterprise Institute. He argued that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. Huntington later expanded his thesis in a 1996 book titled The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Francis Fukuyama argued in The End of History and the Last Man that the world had reached a Hegelian end of history. Huntington believed while the age of ideology had ended the world reverted only to a normal state of affairs characterized by cultural conflict along cultural and religious lines. Sandra Joireman suggests Huntington may be characterized as a neo-primordialist seeing strong ties to ethnicity without believing these ties always existed.
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Common questions
What is a nation state and how does it differ from other political entities?
A nation state is a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory that shares a common identity. This term describes a political entity where the state and the nation are broadly congruent unlike empires which comprise several territories and peoples established through conquest.
When did the modern concept of a nation state emerge according to historical theories?
Most theories identify the nation-state as a 19th-century European phenomenon facilitated by state-mandated education and mass media. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 established the Westphalian system of states often called the modern system of states while early unified states emerged in Portugal and the Dutch Republic.
How do nation states create cultural unity and what policies do they use?
Nation states typically have more centralized and uniform public administration than their imperial predecessors and promote economic unity by abolishing internal customs and tolls. Language prohibitions were used to accelerate the adoption of national languages and the decline of minority languages while schools taught national history often in a propagandistic and mythologized version.
Which countries serve as examples of nation states or non-nation states in modern history?
Israel was established in May 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people with 75.7% of its population being Jews while Belgium serves as a classic example of a state that is not a nation state divided between Flemings and French-speaking populations. The Kingdom of the Netherlands presents an unusual example where one kingdom represents four distinct countries including Aruba Curaçao and Sint Maarten alongside the Netherlands.
What happens when national boundaries do not match ethnic boundaries within a nation state?
When national boundaries that do not match ethnic boundaries are drawn ethnic tension massacres and even genocide sometimes occurred historically. Irredentist claims usually arise when an identifiable part of the national group lives across the border and these demands typically result in tensions and actual attempts at annexation are always considered a casus belli for war.