What Is the Difference Between a Nation and a State, and Does the Difference Matter for the Study of International Relations?
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
IR1005
CARL LARSSON
TUTOR: YANNIS TELLIDIS
ESSAY 1
What is the difference between a nation and a state, and does the difference matter for the study of International Relations?
For one reason or another nowadays people commonly conceive the terms "nation" and "state" to be synonymous, when in actual fact they are not identical. The question implies that there is only one difference, or at least a main difference between a "nation" and a "state", but I believe that there are a few differences of varying importance. I will attempt to define the differences between the two aforementioned terms and explain why they so important for the study of International Relations. However, to find the differences between these two terms, it is necessary to define some key terms first.
To best define a state, I think it necessary to explain how the concept of a state came about in the first place. Chris Brown writes that in medieval Europe "political authority was personal or group-based rather than necessarily territorial" (Chris Brown 2005), meaning that a certain inhabitant would be far more inclined to serve a local power house than show allegiance to a higher authority, which, real or imagined, would never really affect him. It is only after the Peace of Westphalia was constituted that a new order arose.
As defined by Chris Brown in his book Understanding International Relations, a state is a "territorially-based political unit characterized by a central decision-making and enforcement machinery (a government and an administration); the state is legally 'sovereign ' in the sense that it recognizes neither an external superior, nor an internal equal" (Chris Brown 2005). I would add that even with all the above ingredients, sovereignty is only truly achieved by the recognition of you as a state by other states. For example, North Cyprus believe that they should be a separate state, but they have to be recognized by other states
IR1005
CARL LARSSON
TUTOR: YANNIS TELLIDIS
ESSAY 1
What is the difference between a nation and a state, and does the difference matter for the study of International Relations?
For one reason or another nowadays people commonly conceive the terms "nation" and "state" to be synonymous, when in actual fact they are not identical. The question implies that there is only one difference, or at least a main difference between a "nation" and a "state", but I believe that there are a few differences of varying importance. I will attempt to define the differences between the two aforementioned terms and explain why they so important for the study of International Relations. However, to find the differences between these two terms, it is necessary to define some key terms first.
To best define a state, I think it necessary to explain how the concept of a state came about in the first place. Chris Brown writes that in medieval Europe "political authority was personal or group-based rather than necessarily territorial" (Chris Brown 2005), meaning that a certain inhabitant would be far more inclined to serve a local power house than show allegiance to a higher authority, which, real or imagined, would never really affect him. It is only after the Peace of Westphalia was constituted that a new order arose.
As defined by Chris Brown in his book Understanding International Relations, a state is a "territorially-based political unit characterized by a central decision-making and enforcement machinery (a government and an administration); the state is legally 'sovereign ' in the sense that it recognizes neither an external superior, nor an internal equal" (Chris Brown 2005). I would add that even with all the above ingredients, sovereignty is only truly achieved by the recognition of you as a state by other states. For example, North Cyprus believe that they should be a separate state, but they have to be recognized by other states
Bibliography: John Baylis and Steve Smith (editors),”The Globalization of world politics: an introduction to international relations”, Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York, 2005, 3rd Edition Chris Brown, “Sovereignty, Rights and Justice: International Political Theory Today”, Blackwell Publishers, 2002, Malden, MA Chris Brown, “Understanding international relations third edition”, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 Michael Nicholson, “International Relations: a concise introduction, States, nations and governments 2nd edition, Chapter 2, 2002 Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy is what a state makes of it: the social construction of power politics, 1992 ARTICLES The Kurds: A nation without a state, http://www.studyworld.com