Are nations ancient or modern? Are they natural or artificial? Are they a tool of liberation or coercion? Despite many predicting globalisation would make them obsolete, nations are now back in fashion in a world where leaders tout America First, the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese People, and Hindutva. Understanding the nation now seems more important than ever.
Nations are natural communities
Modern nations reflect long existing human communities who display a basic unity over a continuous historical period.
Nations are natural cultural communities
Nations are defined by a cultural unity between people.
Nations are bound together by a common ethnicity. They are shaped by specific territorial and biological factors; these factors also contribute to the development of unique cultures within these nations.
Nations only came in to existence from the late 18th century onward due to massive political, social, and economic changes.
Industrialisation created nations
The emergence of capitalism transformed society by promoting linguistic and cultural standardisation within distinct territorial spheres, ushering in the age of nations.
From the Romantic nationalists of the 18th century onward, many thinkers have seen a world of multiple distinct nations as one which is best able to respect and nourish cultural diversity.
Nations are a tool for elites to control the population.
The working men have no country
Key Marxist thinkers argue class experience and interests transcend national boundaries, and belief in national differences distracts the working class from their real interests.
Nationalism is used to justify empires and imperialism. Even after decolonisation, the persistence of the nation as a model of political organisation means imperialism persists.
Nationalism promotes illiberal anti-democratic politics. By mostly focusing on the interests of the majority, the minority's concerns are not recognized.
