Upload
al-yarimi-martinez
View
219
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/6/2019 Derecho Inter
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/derecho-inter 1/3
State, Country, and Nation
Thecriteriathat define a country, anindependentState, and a nation
by Liz Olson
Thereis a differencebetweenthetermsnation, state, and country,eventhoughthewords are oftenusedinterchangeably.
Country and State are synonymous termsthatbothapplytoself -governingpoliticalentities. A nation, however, is a group of peoplewhoshare thesame culture but do nothavesovereignty.
Whenthe ³s´ of stateislowercase, itconstitutes a part of a wholecountry, such as thedifferentstates of the UnitedStates of America .Whenthe ³S´ of Stateisuppercaseitsignifiesanindependent country.
Howwerecountriesdefined in thepast?
In thepast, governmentsoftenusedtwoopposingtheoriesto define a
country²the Montevideo Conventiontreatyortheconstitutivetheory of statehood.
In 1933, at the Montevideo Convention in Uruguay, atreatywassignedontheRights and Duties of States. Thetreatydefined aStateusingfourcriteria²a permanentpopulation, a definedterritory, agovernment, and a capacitytoenterintorelationswithotherStates.
Theconventionalsodeclaredthat a Statedidnothaveto berecognizedbyotherStates, meaning a country couldexistevenifothercountriesdidnotrecogni zeit.
Conversely, theconstitutivetheory of statehoodsaidthat a country existedifitwasrecognized as sovereignbyothercountries. Therefore,ifothercountriesrecognized a country as independent, itwas, evenifthecountry didnothave control of itsterritoryor a pe rmanentpopulation.
WhatmakesanindependentStateor a country today?
y Has internationallyrecognizedland and bordersevenifborder disputes exist;
y Has permanentresidents;y Has sovereignty so that no other country has
poweroveritsterritory;y Has organizedeconomic activitythatregulatesforeign and
domestictrade and issuesmoney;y Has a transportationnetworkformovinggoods and people;y Has aneducationsystem;y Has recognitionfromotherindependentstates
Howmanycountries are there in theworld?
8/6/2019 Derecho Inter
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/derecho-inter 2/3
Today, there are 195 independentcountriesorstatesrecognized intheworld. Kosovo, whichdeclaredindependencefrom Serbia in February 2008isthenewest count ry. Territories, such as Hong Kong , Bermuda, PuertoRico, and Greenlandthatbelongtoothercountries arenotconsideredcountries.
Disputes oftenarisewhen a territoryclaimsto be a country,
butisnotrecognizedbyanyothercountries. Taiwan, forexample, claimsto beanindependent country, but ChinastatesthatTaiwanis a part of China.Therefore, othercountriesthatdon¶twanttoupset China also donotrecognizeTaiwan a s independent.
What are a nation and a nation -state?
A nationis a group of peoplewho share thesame culture, language,institutions, religion, and history ²usually a group of
peoplelargerthan a tribeorcommunity. When a nation of people hasanindependentState of theirownitisoftencalled a nation -state. The Kurdsare a nationwithout a State, but France, Germany, and Japan areexamples of nation -states.
http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/state -country-nation.html#ixzz1BXdiph3t
http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/state -country-nation.html
Country, State, an d Nation
DefinininganIndependent Country
ByMattRosenberg , About.com Guide
Whiletheterms country, state, and nation are oftenusedinterchangeably,thereis a difference.
A State (note the capital "S") is a self -governingpoliticalentity.ThetermState can be usedinterchangeablywith country.
A nation, however, is a tightly -knitgroup of peoplewhich share acommon culture. A nation -stateis a nationwhich has thesameborders as aState.
Let'sstartwithwhat defines a Stateoranindependent country.AnindependentState:
y Has spaceorterritorywhich hasinternationallyrecognizedboundaries (boundary disputes are OK).
y Has peoplewholivethereonanongoingbasis.y Has economicactivity and anorganizedeconomy. A coun try
regulatesforeign and domestictrade and issuesmoney.y Has thepower of social engineering, such as education.y Has a transportationsystemformovinggoods and people.y Has a governmentwhichprovidespublicservices and policepower.
8/6/2019 Derecho Inter
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/derecho-inter 3/3
y Has sovereignty. NootherStateshouldhavepoweroverthecountry'sterritory.
y Has externalrecognition. A country has been "votedintothe club"byothercountries.
There are currently 195 independentcountriesorStat esaroundtheworld.Territories of countriesor individual parts of a country are
notcountries in theirownright.
Examples of entitiesthat are notcountriesinclude: Hong Kong, Bermuda,Greenland, Puerto Rico, and mostnotablytheconstituentparts of theUnitedKingdom. (NorthernIreland, Wales, Scotland, and England arenotcountries.)
A "state" (with a lower -case "s") isusually a division of a federalState (such as thestates of theUnitedStates of America).
Nations and Nation -States
Nations are culturallyhomogene ousgroups of people, largerthan a single
tribeorcommunity, which share a commonlanguage, institutions,religion, and historicalexperience.
When a nation of peoplehave a Stateor country of theirown, itiscalled a nation-state. Places like France, Egypt, Germ any, and Japan areexcellentexamples of nation -states. There aresomeStateswhichhavetwonations, such as Canada and Belgium. Evenwithitsmulticultural society, theUnitedStatesisalsoreferredto as a nation -statebecause of theshared American "culture."
There are nationswithoutStates. Forexample, theKurds arestatelesspeople.
http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalgeog/a/statenation.htm