Nation_State_Research

| | |Nation-State Research Essay | | | |LaKenya Nashay Young | |8/3/2010 | International politics in modern times is a very complex subject. Just one century ago, at the time of the outbreak of the First World War, global politics looked much different. At that time vast empires ruled much of the world. The European powers drew political boundaries in manners that served the imperial will. Over the decades such empires collapsed almost without exception. As noted, the modern nation-state is viewed as the primarily legitimate form of governance, being related to the ideal of democracy. The power of these nation states is coordinated and exercised in some cases through transnational organizations – yet such transnational organizations are unlikely to replace the nation-state. A state is simply a political entity. Government throughout the ages, from tiny island mayoralties to vast empires can be termed states. In this case the focus is on sovereign states, or those claim not to be bound by any external power. Most entities that are thought of as countries today can fall under this umbrella term of states. Nations on the other hand are groups referred that have a central and unique cultural as well as a historical identity. In modern times these usually overlap indicating the creation of nation-states. In times past, the two were not necessarily synonymous. A vast empire could be called a single state, or government unit, but was comprised of many nations, or cultural and ethnic groups. In cases where the political state boundaries include many nations, civil wars have historically occurred as the groups seek to be free of each other. This relates back to basic democratic ideals. The cohesive group wishes to be self-governing. Even in modern times, the desire for independence as a nation-state has been seen in areas such as Kosovo. In a similar case if a nation is divided between two states a war between those states becomes extremely likely. Another interest point to consider is the fact that nations can develop. America was settled by people from many European countries. In the original colonies of the United States, Britain held political ascendancy. However the culture, economic interests, and other identifiers of the colonies grew apart from the mother country to the point that a new nation developed (followed, in quick order, by the forcible formation of a new sovereign state). Major European powers such as Britain, Germany, and France appear to be decisively rooted in national identities. Yet the possibility of divergent national changes raises the possibility of convergent changes – such as that represented by the later discussed European Union. The modern United Kingdom is certainly a state, since it exercises sovereign power as a whole. However some debate exists over its identification as a nation-state. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland could all be described as distinct nations within the state of United Kingdom. However, their close cultural bonds for centuries have led some to feel that the United Kingdom as a whole does qualify as a nation rather than a pluralist state. The possibility for conflicting views, even among experts in the area, shows the complex social nature of many such considerations. As noted then, an example of a state would be any sovereign government, such as Japan. A nation would be any cohesive people, such as Albania. Finally, both of the above examples qualify as nation-states since they could be inversely described as both such qualifiers. The distinction between nation-states and their predecessors is easily seen in attitude. The nation-state is influenced by emotional attachment to the cultures and territory. In the days of grand empires and monarchies, territorial boundaries could be changed easily by negotiations. Colonies and holdings of the empire had no special significance to the government. Under the nation-state, the national group is represented directly. Thus an attachment to the existing boundaries and territory is developed. The frequent reshuffling of land ownership among the empires of old would surprise most modern readers as it represents a very different view of territory and boundaries. The national group is what defines the borders in fact rather than the negotiations and preferred resources. Nation-states are able to work toward goals of national unity and cohesiveness. This allows the pre-existing national group to develop even greater levels of national pride and such unification emotion. Transportation and economy within a nation-state is typically on an even plane. That is, the barriers that exist between states are not existent within the nation-state. All members of the nation-state are considered equal as citizens. Oftentimes the language, religious and cultural roots of the nation-state are somewhat homogeneous, leading to addition platforms on which to build a unified society and government. The distinctive goal of the nation-state government is to represent all the people of the specified national group. That is, the government interest (usually democratic, but not necessarily so) is to rule in the interest of the nationally unified culture. This stands in contrast to the goals of imperial governments, which often attempted to bring gain to a certain class by exploiting entire colonized nations. The concept of a nation-state allows for the examination of modern countries accounting for both their political unity and cultural cohesion. These both factor into diplomatic and military relations and analysis of likely behavior patterns. The United States is heterogeneous in many ways, which makes some question its qualification in the original definition of a nation-state. However, it has developed into a distinct nation in itself – the represented culture is that of being “American”. People speak of the American lifestyle, the American dream, and other such sayings to the extent that the United States can be argued to be a nation. There are several identifiers that show this to be so. The United States has defined territory. This fixed territorial boundary is set and untouchable. The country has, over the centuries, expanded greatly into new areas, most recently with the acquisition of Alaska from Russia. However the country has never given away or sold lands that were considered part of the country. The government and society would consider it unthinkable to trade away some portion of the United States. In addition, the country features both sovereignty and common culture. The sovereign nature of the United States originated in the Revolutionary War. That war (and the later War of 1812) ended British sovereignty over the United States. However, the national sovereignty was established over time in another sense. Initially some may have felt that the individual states of the newly formed United States were to be considered sovereign states in their own right. The Articles of Confederation furthered this idea. Those articles were quickly supplanted by the stronger Constitution of the United States, which allowed for a strong central government. The issue of “states rights” persisted for nearly a century until the United States Civil War. That war rejected the ability of individual states to secede from the United States, showing that these were not sovereign states as individuals, but rather merely political subdivisions. This clearly showed that the federal government was sovereign, as originally planned by the Constitution. The common culture of the United States has developed over the centuries. Unique inventions, entertainment, and food have created a unique flavor to the culture that is shared by all areas of the country. Finally, the United States has a common foreign policy. Over the centuries, it has pursued such objectives as the Monroe Doctrine, repudiating foreign interference in the Western Hemisphere, and the avoidance of nuclear proliferation in such countries as Iran and North Korea. Thus, the United States does fit the definition of a nation, a state, and thus a nation-state. The impact during the twentieth century of superpowers such as the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics left some smaller nation-states with lessened influence. This was especially clear with regard to the huge economic power of such behemoths. This led to the consideration among some old European powers of a common bond. This would serve, not to supplant national governments, but to pursue common transnational economic interests – allowing them to fairly compete with the major players. This led to the establishment of the European Community, an economic system and framework. Over time, the addition of new responsibilities to the transnational organization led to its transformation into the European Union – which continues to receive new responsibilities almost annually. This European Union is made up of some twenty-seven countries, including historical Britain, Germany, and France. Under the recently approved revised constitution, the European Union has a President, a Trade Commissioner, and several legislative bodies, such as the Council of Ministers, European Commission, and the directly-elected European Parliament. The significant number of institutions involved can appear bureaucratic at times. The modern European Union acts in concern on a number of issues, most prominently economic (e.g. antitrust, anti-inflation, etc.) and foreign policy ones. Thus, some similarities do exist to the operation of the nation-states and the greater transnational entities. Both attempt to influence international politics. The nation-states of Europe have certainly been benefited in terms of influence by banding together under the European Union. Yet many of the European Union member states still negotiate individually in some areas. For instance, the G-20 group of industrial nations includes the European Union and several of its member nations. The union also works with the United States and others in the Quartet process for Middle Eastern peace talks. Taken together, this development in socio-political relations represents an exciting new channel for exerting influence. References Topulos, K. (2009). Duke Law Library and Technology. Retrieved July 15, 2010 from European Union: http://www.law.duke.edu/​lib/​researchguides/​europe.html. Davis, R. (2010). What is a Nation-State' Retrieved July 17, 2010 from Towson University: http://www.towson.edu/​polsci/​ppp/​sp97/​realism/​whatisns.htm. Johnson, P. M. (1994). Nation-State: A Glossary of Political Economy Terms. Retrieved July 15, 2010 from Auburn University: http://www.auburn.edu/​~johnspm/​gloss/​nation_state. European Union Internet Resources. (2010). Retrieved July 15, 2010 from University of California: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/​doemoff/​govinfo/​intl/​gov_eu.html