Nation

A nation is a group of people who collectively identify with shared characteristics such as language, history, culture, religion, territory, or political memory. A nation is not merely a number of people living in the same place; it is a shared recognition and a sense that members can be bound together to possess a common political future.

The term nation is often confused with the terms 'state' and 'ethnicity' (qowmiyad). A state is a formal institution that holds territory and possesses the authority to make and enforce law. Ethnicity is based on shared ancestry and culture. Nation differs from both, as it rests on political recognition and purpose—which is why some states contain multiple nations, and some nations are scattered across different states.

Historical development of the nation concept

The modern meaning of nation emerged strongly in Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly after the French Revolution. At that time, the idea took hold that political power derives from the people—not from a monarch or from religion. From this emerged the concept of the nation-state, meaning that political boundaries would align with national boundaries. In reality, most states were not formed this way.

Scholarly perspectives

Scholars are divided into two broad camps. The primordialist view holds that nations are real entities with deep history, emerging from earlier communities. The modernist view holds that nations are products of modern changes: mass education, printing, railways, and a strong state binding people together. A well-known perspective describes the nation as an 'imagined community' (bulsho la male-awaalay), because most members will never meet one another, yet believe themselves to constitute a single group.

Nations and international politics

The right to self-determination is a principle stating that nations have the right to decide their own political affairs. This principle contributed to the collapse of colonial empires in the twentieth century. At the same time, it has created ongoing dispute, because national claims sometimes overlap with existing state boundaries and the principle of territorial sovereignty.