nation state

the modern form of STATE, possessing clearly defined borders, in which the boundaries of state and society tend to be coextensive, i.e. the territorial claims of the state typically correspond with cultural, linguistic and ethnic divisions (see also NATIONALISM). As such, these modern forms of state contrast with the most successful earlier state forms (e.g. preindustrial empires) which usually lacked the administrative or other resources to impose, such cultural integration.

As GIDDENS (1985) puts it, a decisive feature of modern nation states is that they are ‘bordered power containers’ enclosing far greater administrative intensity than traditional states. Furthermore, these modern states have also existed as part of a NATION-STATE SYSTEM of similarly constituted states, in which:

WARFARE and the preparation for war played a fundamental consitutive role; and
in providing a model, paved the way for all subsequent modern nation states, e.g. in Asia and Africa. In recent years, sociologists have tended to place a new emphasis on the role of the state in transforming the traditional world, often granting political institutions greater autonomy from, and sometimes even primacy over, economic institutions. See also ABSOLUTISM, SOVEREIGNTY, STANDING ARMY, ARMS RACE, CITIZEN, SURVEILLANCE, DEMOCRACY.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

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References in periodicals archive

And these developments are incompatible with the rigid borders and military preoccupations of the nation state.

Arms and our Species

So barring this and pushing for just solutions we as a Nation State have to view economic strengths and weaknesses to entrench our economic existence.

Assetising a nation state

Taylor notes that 'the nation state played a central role in the maintenance of fixed and stable political cultures and stable identities around universal and essentialist categories.' This is true, for instance, in countries like Germany.

The end of the nation-state

If they have made that effort, then their nation state has a much better chance of survival.

Nation states need to nurture their regions to inspire loyalty

The nation state and religion; the resurgence of faith.

The nation state and religion; the resurgence of faith

Milward, The European Rescue of the Nation State (London: Routledge,1992).

Redirecting US diplomacy

He makes a thorough analysis of Habermas' work and in the theoretical part of the book he discusses how modernity in both cultural and social terms has evolved in such a way that transcends the importance of nation state and finds a new meaning at the European Union level.

Habermas and European Integration: Social and Cultural Modernity Beyond the Nation-State

There is a British sovereign state which, if you exclude Northern Ireland, is not a 'nation state' but a 'tri-nation state'.

There are three nations on island; LETTERS

There is a British sovereign state which - if you exclude Northern Ireland - is not a "nation state" but a "tri-nation state".

No British nation; & COMMENT DEBATE YOUR LETTERS TO THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF WALES