All about What is a Nation

A nation is more overtly political than an ethnic group; it’s been called “a fully organised or structured ethnic group.” Some nations are associated with ethnic groupings, while others are associated with a social and political constitution. A nation can alternatively be defined as a cultural-political community that has realised its autonomy, unity, and specific interests.

What is nationalism?

Nationalism is a belief and movement that the state and the nation should be in sync. Nationalism as a movement seeks to support the interests of a specific nation (as opposed to a collection of people), particularly with the goal of achieving and retaining the nation’s sovereignty (self-governance) over its homeland in order to establish a nation state. Nationalism holds that each nation should govern itself (self-determination), that a nation is the only legitimate source of political authority, and that a nation is a natural and ideal basis for a polity.It also aims to promote national unity or solidarity by establishing and maintaining a single national identity based on shared social characteristics such as culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language, politics (or the government), religion, traditions, and belief in a shared singular history. As a result, nationalism aims to conserve and promote a country’s historic culture. There are numerous definitions of “nation,” resulting in varied forms of nationalism. Ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism are the two basic types of nationalism.

Types of nations:

Many social scientists contended in the late twentieth century that there were two types of nations: civic nations, such as the French republican society, and ethnic nations, such as the German peoples. The German tradition was defined by early 19th-century intellectuals such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte as individuals who shared a similar language, religion, culture, history, and ethnic origins that set them apart from people from other countries. The civic nation, on the other hand, may be traced back to the French Revolution and concepts from 18th-century French intellectuals. It was interpreted as being centred on a willingness to “live together,” resulting in a nation born of affirmation. Ernest Renan, among others, had this vision.

Characteristics of a nation:

Statehood, ethnicity, and naturalness are all potential objective approaches to what constitutes nation-ness.

Statehood:

According to this viewpoint, a group is a nation if it has its own state. This idea of a country is captured by the term ‘nation-state.’ However, this strategy appears to be a little too clean, and it raises a lot of issues. For starters, it would rule out the existence of non-state nations, effectively locking in the current state configuration that makes up the world’s political landscape. 

Ethnicity:

Some people take the idea of national self-determination to mean that each ‘ethnic’ group is a nation, and that each nation has the right to political self-determination. But who is to determine – and, worse, police – where one ethnicity’s borders end and another’s begin?

Naturalness:

Mountains and rivers, for example, are frequently assumed to serve as ‘natural’ boundaries. Mountains, rivers, and other natural landscape elements can draw people together and establish common interests and a feeling of community, just as they can divide and alienate them. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to interpreting the social significance of natural landscapes.

Some  more of  nation’s features and characteristics include:

• A country’s population is required.
• It must share a linguistic and cultural identity.
• It might not have distinct boundaries.
• It might not have its own government.

Anti-colonial nationalism and Civic nationalism:

Anti-colonial nationalism is an intellectual framework that existed before, during, and after the decolonization process in the mid-1900s. A nation, according to Benedict Anderson, is a socially constructed society in which individuals regard themselves as members. He cites the New World as the birthplace of nationalism as a notion, which is defined by its conception of an ahistorical identity that by definition rejects colonialism. The transition of settler colonies into states represented this concept of nationalism, whereas struggles against colonial powers in the 1900s exemplified anti-colonial nationalism.

Civic nationalism describes the nation as a group of people who identify as citizens of the country, have equal and shared political rights, and follow identical political procedures. The nation, according to civic nationalism ideals, is not based on common ethnic descent, but rather is a political entity with ethnicity as its basic identity. Ernest Renan exemplified this civic view of nationalism in his 1882 speech “What is a Nation?” in which he characterised the nation as a “daily referendum” relying on the will of its people to continue living together. Civic nationalism is frequently associated with liberal nationalism, but the two are distinct and have not always been synonymous.

Conclusion:

Each country is distinct in terms of its (supposed) character and worth. To be classified as a nation, a group must be aware of its supposed distinction from other groups, and to what extent. One could argue that a nation is objectively defined as a collection of people who have a common and unique cultural identity that has existed for a long time and who make up the majority of a specific territorial area. If that is the case, one may argue that such a ‘country’ is still a nation even if it is not advocating for a right to self-determination (in any form).