Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Nation & Identity

What are some understandings of a nation?

There are many different aspects of our individual and collective identity that are viewed as criteria of nationalism or how much your nation impacts you. These characteristics are as follows: ethnicity, culture, religion, language, history, geography, land and spirit. These criteria are also split into two groups, ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism. There are also many perspectives on what a nation is.


These are the understandings of a nation:

Linguistic: Some people believe that lanugage creates a shared world view.

Ethnic: Certain nations develop based on ethnicity because they believe it will protect their collective identity. In some cases this may lead to racism or other types of discrimination.

Cultural: Sharing the same lifestyle can bring citizens together to create a new nation.

Religious: Sense of a nation can derive from the same spiritual mindedness.

Geographic: Physical barriers can pressure people to live and grow together.

Spiritual: Spiritual ties of a land can influence people to live together.

Political: The ambition for self-determination and sovereignty may decide whether a group of people are a nation or not.


In conclusion, there is no one definition of a nation. It depends on people, the place, what values are shared and their viewpoint.

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