state the difference between state and national
Answers
Answer:
Some of the major differences between state and nation are as follows:
In common usage, the terms State and Nation are often used as synonyms. For example, when we say ‘Western nations’ or ‘Asian nations’ or ‘African nations’, we do not mean nations but States. Similarly, the ‘United Nations’ is in reality an organisation of nation-states. Each modern state is a Nation State; nevertheless there exist some important distinctions between the State and the Nation.
Points of Difference between State and Nation:
1. The elements of State and Nation are different:
The State has four elements—population, territory, government, and sovereignty. In the absence of even one element, a State cannot be really a State. A state is always characterised by all these four elements. On the contrary, a nation is a group of people who have a strong sense of unity and common consciousness.
Common territory, common race, common religion, common language, common history, common culture and common political aspirations are the elements which help the formation of a nation, and yet none of these is an absolutely essential element. The elements which go to build a nation keep on changing.
2. State is a Political Organisation while Nation is a social, cultural, psychological, emotional and political unity:
The State is a political organisation which fulfills the security and welfare needs of its people. It is concerned with external human actions. It is a legal entity. On the other hand, a Nation is a united unit of population which is full of emotional, spiritual and psychological bonds. A nation has little to do with the physical needs of the people.
3. Possession of a Definite Territory is essential for the State but not for a Nation:
It is essential for each State to possess a fixed territory. It is the physical element of the State. State is a territorial entity. But for a nation territory is not an essential requirement. A nation can survive even without a fixed territory. Love of a common motherland acts as a source of unity. For example, before 1948 the Jews were a nation even though they had no fixed territory of their own. When, in 1948, they secured a definite and defined territory, they established the State of Israel.
4. Sovereignty is essential for State but not for Nation:
Sovereignty is an essential element of the State. It is the soul of the State. In the absence of sovereignty, the State loses its existence. It is the element of sovereignty which makes the state different from all other associations of the people. It is not essential for a nation to possess sovereignty.
The basic requirement of a nation is the strong bonds of emotional unity among its people which develop due to several common social cultural elements. Before 1947, India was a nation but not a State because it did not have sovereignty. (State = Nation + Sovereignty).
After her independence in 1947, India became a State because after the end of British imperial rule it became a sovereign entity. However, each nation always aspires to be sovereign and independent of the control of every other nation.
5. Nation can be wider than the State:
The State is limited to a fixed territory. Its boundaries can increase or decrease but the process of change is always very complex. However a nation may or may not remain within the bounds of a fixed territory. Nation is a community based on common ethnicity, history and traditions and aspirations.
Answer:
a national state is a state in which the great majority shares the same culture and is concious of it . the nation state is an ideal in which cultural boundaries match up with political ones