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The Difference Between a Country, State, and NationSome Entities Are Defined By Culture Rather Than GeographyBy: Matt Rosenberg | January 25, 2019While the terms country, state, sovereign state, nation, and nation-state are often used interchangeably, there is a difference. Simply put:A state is a territory with its own institutions and populations.A sovereign state is a state with its own institutions and populations which has a permanent population, territory, and government. It must also have the right and capacity to make treaties and other agreements with other states.A nation is a large group of people that inhabit a specific territory and are connected by history, culture or another commonality.A nation-state is a cultural group (a nation) that is also a state (and may, in addition, be a sovereign state).The word country can be used to mean the same thing as state, sovereign state, or nation-state. It can also be used in a less political manner to refer to a region or cultural area that has no governmental status. Examples include Wine Country (the grape-growing area of northern California) and Coal Country (the coal-mining region of Pennslyvania).Qualities of a Sovereign StateState, nation, and country are all terms to describe groups of people who live in the same place and have a great deal in common. But while states and sovereign states are political entities, nations and countries may or may not be. A sovereign state (sometimes called an independent state) has the following qualities:Space or territory which has internationally recognized boundariesPeople who live there on an ongoing basis.Regulations governing foreign and domestic tradeThe ability to issue legal tender that is recognized across boundariesAn internationally recognized government which provides public services and police power and has the right to make treaties, wage war, and take other actions on behalf of its peopleSovereignty, meaning that no other state should have power over the country's territory.There are many geographic entities that have some but not all of the qualities that make up a There are presently 195 sovereign states in the world (197 by some counts); 193 are members of the United Nations (the United Nations excludes Palestine and the Holy See). Two other entities, Taiwan and Kosovo, are recognized by some but not all members of the United Nations.Entities That Are Not Sovereign StatesThere are many entities that have geographical and cultural significance and many of the qualities of a sovereign state but which are not, in fact, independent sovereign states. These include territories, non-sovereign states, and nations.Non-Sovereign StatesTerritories of sovereign states are not sovereign states in their own right. There are many entities that have most qualities of sovereign states but are officially considered to be sovereign. Many have their own histories, and some even have their own languages. Examples include:Hong KongBermudaGreenlandPuerto RicoNorthern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England, all of which are non-sovereign parts of the United KingdomThe word "state" is also used to refer to geographic sections of sovereign states which have their own governments but which are subject to the larger federal government. The 50 United States are non-sovereign states.NationsNations are culturally homogeneous groups of people which share a common language, institution, religion, and/or historical experience. Some nations are sovereign states, but many are not; some of those nations that hold territory but are not sovereign states include: The Indian Nations of the United States Bosnia Catalonia (in northern Spain) Quebec Corsica Sicily TibetIn addition to nations that are non-sovereign states, it can be argued that there are nations that govern no territory at all. For example, the Sindhi, Yoruba, Rohingya, Kurdish, and Igbo people share histories, cultures, and language but have no territory. There are some States which have two nations, such as Canada and Belgium.Nation-StatesWhen a nation of people has a sovereign state of their own, it is called a nation-state. Populations living in nation-states share a history, language, ethnicity, and culture (though, of course, most nation-states now include populations of immigrants who do not share the local culture). Places like Iceland and Japan are excellent examples of nation-states: the vast majority of people born in those nation-states share the same ancestry and culture. In order to maintain a nation state, France does not recognize any national identity or language other than French in its territory. However, many of its current and former territories—Alsace, Brittany, Corsica, Flanders, Moselle, Northern Catalonia, Occitania, Savoy, and the Basque Country—were not culturally French until they were francized in the late 19th century. According to WikiLeaks, former Prime Minister Michel Rocard told the American ambassador to France, Craig Roberts Stapleton, in 2005, "France created itself by destroying five cultures: Breton, Occitan, Alsatian, Corsican, and Flemish."Multi-national StateA state that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities. For example, Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to three ethnic "constituent peoples": Bosniaks (50.11%), Serbs (30.78%), and Croats (15.43%).[18] The country's political divisions were created by the Dayton Agreement, which recognized a second tier of government comprising two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly Bosniaks and Croats) and the Republika Srpska (mostly Serbs), with each governing roughly half of the state's territory. A third region, the Br?ko District, was governed locally. Today, all three ethnic groups have an equal constitutional status over the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country has a bicameral legislature and a three-member presidency composed of one member of each major ethnic group.Multi-ethnic StateA state with multiple ethnicities who do not have group sovereignty. Example: The United States is a multiethnic state because the various ethnic groups within it do not have a tradition of self-determination. A multiethnic society has people belonging to more than one ethnic group, in contrast to societies that are ethnically homogeneous. Virtually all contemporary national societies are multiethnic. The scholar David Welsh argued in 1993 that fewer than 20 of the 180 sovereign states then in existence were ethnically and nationally homogeneous, if a homogeneous state was defined as one in which minorities made up less than 5 percent of the population. Sujit Choudhry therefore argues that "The age of the ethno-culturally homogeneous state, if ever there was one, is over."Types of Government Each state uses a system of government that meets (or fails to meet) its needs. Unitary states are governed centrally, with one national government wielding most or all political authority. France uses a unitary system because it’s a smaller country that wants to create and sustain a strong sense of “frenchness.” Federal governments balance power by having power split between the central government and various subnational governments. The United States uses this model for various reasons, mainly because of regional differences that existed prior to the adoption of the Constitution. Confederacies split power, as well, with most power being concentrated in the subnational local or regional governments. The historical example is the Confederate States of American during the American Civil War, though the EU could be considered a confederacy today. Supranational governments, where some authority is held above various national governments, can also be used. An example is the European Union. The United Nations is not an example because they have no real political authority. ................
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