Month: January 2023

The nation-state has the recognition of other similar nation-states or a majority of them, along with recognition from supra-national organizations. The nation-state has the right to recognize other nation-state(s) and be part of supra-national organizations on the principle of the sovereign equality of the nation-state.

The nation-state is considered to be the primary actor and representative of its people in these areas. The nation-state is considered to be the ‘terminal entity’ in the international system which captures the loyalties of the people.

The nation-state is the basis of all decisions relating to its citizen including the public good, the welfare and the security of the citizenry. Public good defined in terms of the principles of excludability and non-rival consumption is provided by the nation-state. While the principle of excludability implies that the exclusion of individuals from the… Continue reading Basis of public good, welfare and security of its citizens

The relationship between the community/population and the central authority, the State, is defined in terms of citizenship. This is usually reflected in constitutions through charters of rights. The modern State is the representative of this central authority and the sovereignty of the modern state is not ‘shared.

The nation-state has all the attributes of the State—population, territory, government and sovereignty. People comprising a nation become the sole source of legitimacy from which the State derives its legitimacy. This means that the State has legitimacy and acceptance of all the constituent groups within its boundary. Moreover, the territorial integrity of the State is… Continue reading Attributes of the state

If we can attempt to understand what constitutes the modern State or what could be the reference points that would qualify a State to be a nation-state notwithstanding our three categories, let us consider the following. The nation as the basis of the state The modern State has its population organized on the basis of… Continue reading Ideal Type of Nation-state

An understanding of the relationship between the Nation and the State must confront with two different trends—first, nationalities seeking their states; and second, politically or administratively demarcated states seeking and creating nations for themselves. In the latter case, political sovereignty is considered as contributing to the strengthening of nationalities/nation-building. This duality of relationships between ‘the Nation’ and ‘the State’… Continue reading Nation-states, national-states and state-nations

By the late nineteenth century, the political doctrine of the right of self-determination based on nationality gained weight. After the First World War, Woodrow Wilson advocated the doctrine of right of self-determination as the basic principle of reorganizing the Austro-Hungarian, the German and the Ottoman empires. It was based on the principle that every group… Continue reading Doctrine of the right of self-determination

The term nation-state signifies that the State is organized on the basis of nationhood. During the rise of absolutism, a consolidation of territories took place. This brought diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups into the fold of centralized absolutist States. Before the eighteenth century, the concept of nationalities was not clearly recognized. Lord Acton, in… Continue reading Doctrine of the national basis of the state

In Europe, between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, feudalism was in crisis and the Renaissance gave rise to a new form of human enlightenment and doctrine of human destiny. The emerging scientific and liberal modes of enquiry were discrediting the claims of the Church on the lives of individuals. Feudal-agrarian relations were giving way to… Continue reading The Modern Nation-state and Its Discontents