Category: Concept Of The State In Political Theory And International Relations

In the third century BCE, a great empire emerged under Chandragupta Maurya which covered almost all of present-day India (south India was not part of it) and even extended to Kabul in the north. During this period, Kautilaya is supposed to have written his treatise, the Arthásastra, (the ‘Science of Polity’), which dealt with statecraft and establishment,…

The growth and rise of the nation-state is neither uniform nor universal. As the nation-state was finding its feet in Europe, most parts of Asia and Africa were under some form of colonial rule. Historically speaking, the colonial power structure has played a dual role. On the one hand, it demarcated geographical boundaries of States…

A nation-state interacts with other nation-states on the principle of equality and enjoys similar privileges and obligations towards each other. For peace and justice to prevail in the world, nation-states must be free and secure. These elements or characteristics present an ideal type of nation-state and we may compare specific nation-states with the formulation discussed.…

The nation-state has the recognition of other similar nation-states or a majority of them, along with recognition from supra-national organizations. The nation-state has the right to recognize other nation-state(s) and be part of supra-national organizations on the principle of the sovereign equality of the nation-state.

The nation-state is considered to be the primary actor and representative of its people in these areas. The nation-state is considered to be the ‘terminal entity’ in the international system which captures the loyalties of the people.

The nation-state is the basis of all decisions relating to its citizen including the public good, the welfare and the security of the citizenry. Public good defined in terms of the principles of excludability and non-rival consumption is provided by the nation-state. While the principle of excludability implies that the exclusion of individuals from the…

The relationship between the community/population and the central authority, the State, is defined in terms of citizenship. This is usually reflected in constitutions through charters of rights. The modern State is the representative of this central authority and the sovereignty of the modern state is not ‘shared.

The nation-state has all the attributes of the State—population, territory, government and sovereignty. People comprising a nation become the sole source of legitimacy from which the State derives its legitimacy. This means that the State has legitimacy and acceptance of all the constituent groups within its boundary. Moreover, the territorial integrity of the State is…

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…

An understanding of the relationship between the Nation and the State must confront with two different trends—first, nationalities seeking their states; and second, politically or administratively demarcated states seeking and creating nations for themselves. In the latter case, political sovereignty is considered as contributing to the strengthening of nationalities/nation-building. This duality of relationships between ‘the Nation’ and ‘the State’…