If we can attempt to understand what constitutes the modern State or what could be the reference points that would qualify a State to be a nation-state notwithstanding our three categories, let us consider the following.
The nation as the basis of the state
The modern State has its population organized on the basis of national identity. When the concept of the population as an element of the State is combined with the doctrine of the location of legitimate political power in ‘the people’, the relationship between the State and the nation becomes clear; with the nation as the basis of the political community with legitimate political power. The world is divided into nations, each with its own characteristics.
Mono- or poly-nationality as basis of nation
The community could be mono- or multi-ethnic, mono- or multi-cultural, mono- or multi-linguistic, mono- or multi-religious (notwithstanding the debate on mono- versus poly-national states by theorists such as J. S. Mill and Lord Acton). The community has transferred its primordial loyalties to the central authority of a constitution or any such authority and intra-community differences and interests have been subsumed in the interest of the community. All the constituents of the community perceive that the interest of the community and their own interests are common or at least generally common. In short, nation-states become the primary focus of political loyalty. Many nation-states are plural in their character and are inhabited by poly-ethnic groups. However, it is also true that most nation-states draw their power and sustenance from one or two dominant ethnic/cultural groups.
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