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Question -

Why is it difficult to define the nation? How are nation and state related in modem society?



Answer -

  • A nation is a peculiar sort of community that is easy to describe but hard to define. We can describe many nations founded on the basis of common cultural, historical institutions like a shared religion, language, ethnicity, history or regional culture.
  • It is hard to come up with any defining features for nation. For every possible criterion there are exceptions and counter examples. For example-there are many nations that do not share a common language, religion, ethnicity and so on. On the other hand, there are many languages, religions or ethnicity that are shared across nations.
  • In modem times, there has been a one-to-one bond between nation and state. But this development is new. Nation is a community that has been able to acquire a state of its own. It’s, also seen that states are finding it more and more necessary to claim that they represent a nation.
  • A feature of the modem era is the establishment of democracy and nationalism as dominant sources of political legitimacy. This implies that nation is the most accepted or proper justification for a state, while people are the ultimate source of legitimacy of the nation.

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