What is a nation? The difficulty of defining the term’ nation’ springs from the fact that all nations comprise a mixture of objective and subjective features, a blend of cultural and political characteristics. In objective terms, nations are cultural entities: groups of people, who speak the same language, have the same religion, are bound by a shared past, and so on. Such factors undoubtedly shape the politics of nationalism. The nationalism of Quebecois in Canada, for instance, is based largely on language differences between French-speaking Quebec and the predominantly English speaking rest of Canada. Nationalist tensions in India invariably arise from religious divisions, examples being the struggle of Sikhs in Punjab for a separate homeland ( Khalistan ), and the campaign by Muslims in Kasmir for the incorporation of Kasmir in to Pakistan. Nevertheless, it is impossible to define a nation using objective factors alone. All nations encompass a measure of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity. The Swiss nation has proved to be enduring and viable despite the use of three major languages (French, German, and Italian), as well as a variety of local dialects. Division between Catholics and Protestants that have given rise to rival nationalisms in Norther Irland have been largely irrelevant in main land UK, and of only marginal significance in countries such as Germany. This emphasizes the fact that, ultimately, nations can only be defined subjectively by their members. In the final analysis, the nation is a Psycho-political construct. What sets a nation apart from any other group or collectivity is that its members regard themselves as a nation. What does this mean? A nation in this sense, perceives itself to be a distinctive political community.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 18:24:58 +0000