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Nation-state

Meaning of Nation-State, National Identity, Universal Citizenship, Criteria for Granting Citizenship, etc.

Introduction to Nation-State 

The Nation-State got its existence fairly recently. Before the 1500s, the nation-state did not exist in Europe. At that point, people in Europe did not consider themselves citizens of the name nation or country. They rarely knew what the world was. Most people identify themselves based on their local lord or region. During this time, the state’s rulers have little to no control over countries. Whereas local feudal lords were in high power. Even the laws and practices varied in different parts of the country. 

Before the Nation-State 

In history, there have been several kinds of states apart from the nation-states. For example, during the 15th century, the independent body of the government in Italy was centred on a city. These were referred to as city-states as they were primarily based on cities only; however, their powers were way more. At one time, people who did not see themselves as united or sharing any sort of identity were ruled by empires and kingdoms. The transition from kingdoms, city-states, and empires to nation-states did not occur immediately, nor did it occur uniformly around the world.

As time passed, several monarchs began to ally themselves with the emerging commercial classes and consolidate power by weakening the feudal nobles. This process also led to violence in some areas. With no surprise, the birth of the nation-state saw great violence and rumblings of nationalism. During the 19th century, the nation-state was completely established in Europe. 

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Nation-State

  1. The nation-state is an independent state ruled by the citizens of a community who call themselves a nation. 
  2. The core national group members examine the state as an entity and mark an approximate boundary defined as their homeland. While demanding the state and keeping boundaries, they ensure that other groups understand and respect their supremacy over the state. 
  3. Rogers Brubaker, an American sociologist, reframed it in nationalism: Europe’s National Question and Nationhood, nation-states are “states of and for particular nations.”
  4. The sovereign states in nation-states can be defined as political entities that are represented through a single centralized government that holds sovereignty over an area. 
  5. The nation-state includes two essential principles: The first is the principle of the sovereign state, which provides for the right to govern their state without any outside interference. The second is the principle of national sovereignty which states that the national communities have the right to govern themselves. 
  6. According to the second principle, the state rule requires a particular sort of people’s consent. Note that all states and nations enjoy democratic control.

Now, when you’ve understood the meaning of the Nation-State and the state of the nation, it’s time to move further and understand Nation-State building. 

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Nation-State Building

  1. In 1787-99, after the french revolution, France was considered the first nation-state. However, some experts believe that the English Commonwealth established in the year 1649 should be cited as the first nation-state.
  2. Over the centuries, the concept of state and nation has emerged as a powerful concept. It becomes the vehicle to replace politics and practice powers over geographic territories under other government principles.
  3. It includes theocratic states, colonial empires, dynastic monarchies, and communist revolutionary governments.
  4. Despite the fact that polity-seeking national movements played a critical part in the formation of some nation-states, others were only considered after nationalising the policies that were already in place.

Nation-State Formation and War

As a result of the processes of nation-state creation, the likelihood of wars increases. Several types of war are more widespread around the period of the establishment of nation-states, according to a 2006 study by the social scientists Andreas Wimmer and Brian Min (“From Empire to Nation-State: Explaining Wars in the Modern World, 1816–2001”). These include as follows –

  1. Conflicts for independence aimed at bringing an end to foreign domination (for example, the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962 and the Kosovo conflict from 1998 to 1999)
  2. The outbreak of civil wars within newly formed nation-states as a result of disputes over the states’ ethno-nationalist character, may result in secessionist efforts by ethnic minorities (for example, the Somalian uprising in Kenya from 1963 to 1967, which demanded the union of their area of residence with neighbouring Somalia).
  3. International conflicts involving governments seeking to assist oppressed co-nationals in new neighbouring nation-states (for example, the Greco-Turkish war of 1921–22) and new nation-states seeking to expand their rule into neighbouring territories inhabited by co-nationals (for example, the Greco-Turkish war of 1921–22) are classified as “internal conflicts” (e.g., the German conquest of Alsace-Lorraine during the Franco-German War of 1871).

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Citizenship in Nation-States

  1. In what is known as citizenship regimes, nation-states rigorously implement institutionalised standards for naturalisation. People who are considered valid members of a nation are identified by their citizenship regimes.
  2. The principle of jus sanguinis (“right of blood”), which assigns citizenship based on an individual’s organic ties (through family descent) to the national community and the homeland, is commonly found in nation-states in which the core nation is conceptualised as a primordial ethno-cultural community.
  3. Citizenship allocation based on the principle of jus soli (“right of the soil”), on the other hand, presupposes a civic-republican conception of the core nation, according to which national membership is contingent on acquiring, through socialisation, loyalty to state institutions and acceptance of a shared political culture.

Conclusion 

In today’s contemporary world, the Nation-State is the basic political community despite all global and regional challenges. The nation-state is an independent state ruled by the citizens of a community who call themselves a nation. As time passes, countries all over the world are establishing nation-states.