What is a Nation?
A nation is said to exist when it could traced its origins through the state, in which it associate itself with, histories. Additionally, the cultural elites must be established and well-versed in writing and speaking the national language. There must also be a valid reason for its claim on a certain territory. It is only when these three requirements are fulfilled will the international community consider their claim for a nation (Hobsbawm, 1990: 37). Disagreements, however, tend to arise in the political community over the definition of a nation. This essay will try to list out the different approaches employed in defining a nation starting from a nation being a natural cultural entity to it being politically and psychologically formed. It will then continue to discuss briefly the role that a nation plays and also its future.The first approach in defining a nation looks from a sociological perspective. Sociologists began by studying the patterns of human behaviour over a period of time. They realised that humans are not conditioned to live in isolation. Without human contact, we would just revert to animal behaviour. Therefore, human beings often seek each other company. This pattern of behaviour is affirmed
Despite this limitation, the 'community' believed that everyone shared the same values. In other words, cultures are just the by-product of people's will and might not even reflect the community real histories. As a result of that, the political approach focuses instead on people's loyalties to political ideologies. Advances in technology especially in the field of warfare prevent the dream of a sovereign nation from becoming a reality (Heywood, 1999: 107). Retaliation is also made possible if it is being attack by another state. The question on why and how he makes his choice is irrelevant. Joseph Stalin described it best by defining 'a nation is a historically evolved state community of language, territory, economic life and psychological makeup manifested in a community of culture' (Stalin in Hobsbawm, 1990: 5). Secondly, a nation helps in the economic development of the state. Revolutionaries tend to follow this approach as it represents the common interest of the people against a particular interest (Hobsbawm, ibid: 20). Weber described this phenomenon as the age of rationalisation. This is due to the unpredictable and harmful effects that are inflicted to the world with each usage of nuclear warfare. During this period, things that were once held sacred such as religion and myths are abandoned in favour for science. By adopting the above criteria, any social network with the same cultural norms and values are entitled to call themselves as a nation. Another problem encountered by this definition is the impossibility of limiting cultural boundaries.
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Acceptance Essays
