Nation State Geography

Nation State Definition in Geography

When you combine nation and state, you get a nation-state. It is a specific form of a sovereign state (a political entity on a territory) that governs a nation (a cultural entity) and which derives its legitimacy from successfully serving all its citizens. So, when a nation of people has a state or country of their own, it is called a nation-state. They are a self-governing state, but they can have various forms of government. In most cases, a nation-state is also called a sovereign state, but that is not always the case.

A country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group, which is required to define a nation-state; making a nation-state is a more precise concept.

There are 2 ongoing disputes about nation-states that have not been answered yet:

1. Which came first, the nation or the state?
2. Is nation-state a modern or ancient idea?

Nation States - Origins

The origins of nation-states are disputed. However, most commonly the rise of the modern system of states is seen as the start of nation-states. This idea is dated to the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), consisting of 2 treaties, one ending the Thirty Years' War and one ending the Eighty Years' War. Hugo Grotius, who is considered the father of modern international law and author of 'The Law of War and Peace,' has stated that the Thirty Years' War showed that no single superpower could or should be able to rule the world. Certain religious and secular empires were dismantled and gave way to the rise of the nation-state.

Fig. 1 - A painting by Gerard Ter Borch (1648) depicting the signing of the Treaty of Munster, part of the Treaty of Westphalia.

This nationalistic way of thinking started to spread, aided by technological inventions such as the printing press (c. 1436). The rise of democracy, the idea of self-rule, and keeping the power of kings in check by parliaments also aided the formation of nationalism and patriotism. Both are associated with the nation-state.

The Westphalian system does not create a nation-state, but the nation-states meet the criteria for its component states.

There is some debate as to which nation-state was the first. Some argue that France became the first nation-state after the French Revolution (1787-1799), while others cite the English Commonwealth being established in 1649 as the first nation-state created. Again, this debate has no right or wrong answer, merely a different view.

Characteristics of a Nation State

A nation-state has the following 4 characteristics:

1. Sovereignty - the ability to make autonomous decisions for itself
2. Territory - a nation-state cannot be virtual; it needs to own land
3. Population - there must be real people living there that comprise the nation
4. Government - a nation-state is one with some level of organised government that takes care of its common affairs

How do nation-states differ from pre-nation-states:

• Nation-states have a different attitude to their territory when compared to dynastic monarchies. Nations see their nation as non-transferable, meaning that they would not simply swap territory with other states
• Nation-states have a different type of border, defined only by the area of settlement of the national group. Many nation-states also use natural borders such as rivers and mountain ranges. Nation-states are constantly changing in population size and power due to the limited restrictions of their borders
• Nation-states usually have a more centralised and uniform public administration
• Nation-states have an impact on the creation of a uniform national culture through state policy

The most noticeable characteristic difference is how nation-states use the state as an instrument of national unity in economic, social and cultural life.

It is worth noting that sometimes the geographic boundaries of an ethnic population and its political state coincide. In these instances, there is little immigration or emigration. This means that very few ethnic minorities live in that nation-state/country, but it also means that very few people of the 'home' ethnicity live abroad.

Atul Kohli, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University (US) stated in his book 'State-directed development: political power and industrialisation in the global periphery:'

Formation of the nation-state

While there is no general consensus on whether France or the English Commonwealth had the first nation-state, the nation-state became a standardised ideal during the French Revolution (1789-1799). The idea would soon spread across the world.

There are 2 directions for the formation and creation of a nation-state:

1. Responsible people live in a territory organising a common government for the nation-state they want to create. This is the more peaceful direction
2. A ruler or army will conquer territory and impose its will on the people it will rule. This is a violent and oppressive direction

From nation to nation-state

Common national identities are developed among the peoples of geographical territory, and they organise a state based on their common identity. It is a government of, by, and for the people.

Here are examples of a nation becoming a nation-state:

• The Dutch Republic: this was one of the earliest examples of the formation of such a nation-state, which was triggered by the 'Eighty Years' War' that began in 1568. When the war eventually ended, with Dutch victory, they could not find a king to rule their country. After asking several royal families, it was decided that the Dutch would govern themselves, becoming the Dutch Republic

For the Dutch, their decisions led to them becoming a world superpower, launching a 'golden age' for the nation-state. This golden age was marked by many discoveries, inventions, and amassing vast areas across the globe. This led to them feeling special, a feature of nationalism.

From state to nation-state

In 18th-century Europe, most states existed on a territory conquered and controlled by monarchs who possessed great armies. Some of these non-national states were:

• multi-ethnic empires such as Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Ottoman Empire
• Sub-national micro-states such as a Duchy

During this time, many leaders started to realise the importance of a national identity for legitimacy and citizen loyalty. They attempted to fabricate nationality or impose it from the top to get this national identity.

An example of a fabricated nationality comes from Stalin, who allegedly suggested labelling the nationality as a union of Soviet Socialist Republics would result in people eventually believing it and adopting it.

An example of an imposed nationality is colonial states. Here, the occupying powers (colonists) have drawn boundaries across territories that various tribal and ethnic groups inhabit, and they impose the rule of this state. A recent example is Iraq's occupation by the US. This occupation displaced Saddam Hussein's empire. It attempted to create a democratic nation-state where no significant national culture existed among the sub-national groups living on the territory.

Examples of Nation States

Nation-states include:

• Albania
• Armenia
• Bangladesh
• China
• Denmark
• Egypt
• Estonia
• Eswanti
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Japan
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Maldives
• Malta
• Mongolia
• North Korea
• South Korea
• Poland
• Portugal
• San Marino
• Slovenia

Fig. 2 - Examples of nation-states.

Some of these examples are where a single ethnic group makes up more than 85% of the population.

It is worth noting that China is a bit of a difficult one and needs some explaining, considering not everyone agrees with China being called a nation-state.

China has called itself a nation-state for about 100 years, even though modern China started about 2000 years ago with the Han Dynasty.

China is added to the list for various reasons:

• The vast majority of the people are ethnic Han people, about 92% of the total population
• The government is Han
• Chinese, which is a group of languages that form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, is spoken by the majority ethnic Han Chinese group and even by many minority ethnic groups
• The Han population is geographically distributed on the eastern side of China

Nation-state and globalisation

Globalisation has an impact on nation-states.

Definition of globalisation

Types of globalisation

• Economic: the focus is on integrating international financial markets and the coordination of financial exchange. An example is the North American Free Trade Agreement. Multinational corporations, which operate in 2 or more countries, play a significant role in economic globalisation
• Political: covers the national policies that bring countries together politically, economically and culturally. An example is the UN, which is part of the political globalisation effort
• Cultural: focuses, for the large part, on the technological and societal factors that are causing cultures to mingle. An example is social media, which increased the ease of communication

Westernisation

One commonly seen and recognised effect of globalisation is that it favours Westernisation. This can be clearly seen in the agricultural industry, where developing nations face heavy competition from Western companies. This means that non-Western nation-states are at a, sometimes huge, disadvantage when it comes to dealing with the Americas and Europe.

Impact of globalisation on nation-states

Globalisation impacts all states; however, it is seen as a threat to the sovereignty and autonomy of weak(er) states. Strong states are those that can influence the norms of the international economy. Strong states can be industrialised countries such as the UK and developing countries such as Brazil.

Globalisation has a powerful effect; however, states pursue policies in such a way that these policies restructure the national and private industries. The impact and competence in making such policies will depend on things such as size, geographic location and domestic power of that state, which could be either coercive or consensual.

Then there are so-called weak states, who really have no say in choosing their international economic relations. They simply do not influence the creation and enforcement of rules in the system, nor do they have a choice to decide about their integration into the global economy.

Globalisation also leads to interdependence among nations, which, in turn, could lead to an imbalance of power among nations of different economic strengths.

Conclusion of Impact of globalisation on nation-states

Remember what a nation-state was again? It is a specific form of a sovereign state (a political entity on a territory) that governs a nation (a cultural entity), and which derives its legitimacy from successfully serving all its citizens. They are self-governing.

Knowing this and reading the impact of globalisation, one can argue that globalisation leads to a nation-state no longer being a nation-state. Globalisation leads to influences from other nation-states or counties in general. With these influences impacting the nation-state, its economy, politics and/or culture, can we still call a nation-state a nation-state? Are they still a sovereign state and self-governing if outside influences have an impact?

There is no right or wrong answer here, as a nation-state, in general, is a concept that some argue does not exist. It is up to you to form your own opinion.

Historiography - nation-state issues

While all the information above seems to indicate a rather easy definition of a nation-state, that couldn't be further from the truth. Anthony Smith, ¹ of the most influential scholars on nation-states and nationalism, has argued that a state can be a nation-state only if and when a single ethnic and cultural population inhabits the boundaries of a state and that those boundaries are coextensive with the boundaries of that ethnic and cultural population. If Smith's statement would be true, only about 10% of the states meet these criteria. It is a very narrow way of thinking because migration is a global phenomenon.

Ernest Gellner, a philosopher and social anthropologist, further claims that nations and states do not always exist. Nationalism ensured that people would see those 2 terms as if they were meant to go together.

It is worth remembering that, while there is a definition of a nation-state, actually defining one is not as clear-cut.

The future of the nation-state

The nation-state's claims to absolute sovereignty within its borders have been criticised more recently. This is especially the case among minorities who feel that the ruling elite does not represent their interests, leading to civil wars and genocide.

Also, international corporations and non-governmental organisations are viewed as the driving factor in eroding the economic and political powers of the nation-states. The "ideal nation-state", which is one where the entire population of the territory pledges allegiance to the national culture, did not anticipate the future power of economic wealth and its effects on nation-states. There is no way of knowing what the future holds for nation-states and its, albeit by some disputed, existence.