Nation State

WHAT IS A NATION?

The complexities of defining nations and nationalism,

highlighting the contrasting views and diverse
manifestations of this political phenomenon.

Defining a nation solely through objective factors like

language, religion, or shared history proves inadequate, as
nations inherently encompass cultural diversity.

The subjective nature of nations, asserting that a nation is

ultimately defined by its members perception of
themselves as a distinct political community with shared
aspirations, often for political independence or autonomy.
TWO CONTRASTING CONCEPTS OF A NATION

Nations as Nations as
Cultural Political
Communities Communities
NATIONS AS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES
Proponents like Gellner and
This concept, rooted in the Smith connect the rise of
It views nations as organic
writings of Herder, emphasizes nationalism with modernization
entities with roots in ancient
the significance of shared and industrialization, while also
traditions and a shared
ethnicity, language, and cultural acknowledging the historical
"Volksgeist" reflected in their
heritage in shaping national continuity between modern
culture.
identity. nations and pre-modern ethnic
communities.

Meinecke distinguishes between

Cultural nationalism often
"cultural nations" characterized
manifests as national self-
by ethnic homogeneity and
affirmation, focusing on
"political nations" marked by
preserving cultural identity and
cultural heterogeneity due to the
pride, as seen in Welsh
presence of multiple ethnic
nationalism or Black nationalism.
groups.
NATIONS AS POLITICAL COMMUNITIES

Hobsbawm and Anderson

Traced back to Rousseau's ideas
challenge the notion of nations as
of popular sovereignty and the
This concept emphasizes civic organic entities, arguing that they
"general will," this view links the
loyalties and shared citizenship as are "invented traditions" or
emergence of nations with the
the defining elements of a nation, "imagined communities"
French Revolution's emphasis on
regardless of cultural differences. constructed through political
citizen rights and self-
socialization and shared
government.
experiences.

Political nations are often

characterized by an inclusive
This concept aligns with the
concept of citizenship, where
Marxist perspective that views
adherence to shared values and
nationalism as a form of
principles outweighs cultural or
bourgeois ideology used to
ethnic homogeneity, as
suppress class consciousness.
exemplified by the UK, USA, and
France.
 Type of Nationalism Characteristics Examples
VARIETIES OF
NATIONALISM - Emphasizes individual rights, popular sovereignty, and
- French Revolution - Guiseppe Mazzini's Italian
national self-determination. - Promotes the creation of nation-
Liberal Nationalism unification movement - Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen
states based on the principle of self-determination. - Views
Points"
nationalism as a force for peace and stability.

- Focuses on social cohesion, public order, and national unity. -

- Margaret Thatcher's response to the Falklands War -
Views the nation as an organic entity rooted in shared history,
Conservative Nationalism Euroscepticism in the UK - Ronald Reagan and George
traditions, and values. - Often portrays the nation as under
W. Bush's assertive foreign policies
threat from internal or external enemies.

- Aggressive, militaristic, and expansionist in nature. - Rejects

- European imperialism in the late 19th century -
the equality of nations and often promotes chauvinistic beliefs
Expansionist Nationalism Japanese, Italian, and German expansionism leading to
in national superiority. - Often fueled by myths of past
World War II - Bosnian Serb nationalism in the 1990s
greatness and national regeneration.

- Inspired by the struggle against colonial rule and the pursuit

of national liberation. - Often linked to aspirations for social - Indian independence movement - Chinese
Anti-colonial and Post-
development and economic emancipation. - Drew inspiration communist revolution - Vietnamese independence
colonial Nationalism
from both classical European nationalism and socialist movement - African decolonization movements
ideologies.
A FUTURE FOR THE NATION-
STATE

1 2 3 4

The concluding discusses the The excerpt acknowledges the Despite these challenges, the the future of the nation-state
enduring relevance of the rise of internal pressures such excerpt suggests that the model in a rapidly changing
nation-state in the face of as ethnic and regional politics, nation-state, offering the world order.
globalization and emerging and external threats such as promise of cultural cohesion
challenges. While the nation- globalization, technological and political unity, continues to
state model has faced criticism advancements, and the be the most viable political
and challenges, it remains the erosion of national cultures, unit, especially in the eyes of
dominant form of political collectively contributing to a nationalists.
organization globally. "crisis of the nation-state."
Nation State

Nation State: the idea

"Nation": A group of Usually believe in the right to
that the only legitimate
people who share a self-government and
statehood/sovereignty form of state is one that
common sense of
accommodates and
identity. “National Self-Determination”
represents the nation.
 State Nation
State is a word derived from the The word 'nation' comes from the
Latin 'status', meaning 'status' or Latin 'nation', which means 'a
'condition'. group of people'.

Difference Legal or political concept (formal- The concept of race or ethnicity

between State legal)
and Nation in one country there is at least There can be a nation without a
one nation state
A country can consist of one or A nation can occupy/inhabit two
more nations, as in the case of or more countries, such as the
the United States or Indonesia German nation or the Jewish
nation
  United Nations, its members are States not Nations
 The United Nations is an international organization founded in
1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to
maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly
relations among nations and promoting social progress, better
standards of living and human rights.

(United  The UN has 4 main purposes:

To maintain peace throughout the world;
Nations)
To develop friendly relations among nations;
To help countries work together to improve the lives of the poor, to
overcome hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect
for the rights and freedoms of others;
To be a center for coordinating the actions of nations in achieving
these goals.
 Montevideo Convention
• a permanent population;
• a defined territory;
• government; and
Treaty of Westphalia • capacity to enter into relations with
‘Westphalian system’. the other states.

The
Emergence of 1815
the Nation- 1648 1933
State
Congress of Vienna,
the possibility of state sovereignty
provides the framework for the
aspiration to ‘self-determination’
 The Modern Nation-State
The emergence of the state in the modern era initially existed
in Europe, through the government system in the middle
ages, by the Church, the monarchy (kingdoms), and the
nobility

The ruler in power is responsible for matters of

legislation, judiciary, determining the state of
war/peace, and currency

Sovereignty is obtained through States in this era rely heavily on The government must ensure the
contracts and agreements military power and economic realization of the general will of the
(consensus) power people
12
  Jean Bodin, in his book The Six Books of the
Commonwealth, was the first theorist to expound the
idea that power resides in states, not in people.
 However, Bodin did not depart from the old concept of
Sovereignty
divine right (which had important consequences).
Theory
 Thomas Hobbes, on the other hand, began an
investigation into how states were formed. In doing
so, he provided a stepping stone to the modern era,
because he rejected the principle of divine right.
  A political entity whose government has ultimate authority to
make decisions that are binding on everyone within that entity's
boundaries
 Characteristics: differentiated structure; monopoly of coercive
power – the state as final and binding decision maker; and the
State authority to use physical force within certain territorial
boundaries.
Sovereignty  What is the center of attention is the formal form of state goals,
the state institutions to implement them, the state's relationship
with citizens, and relations with other countries.
 Sovereignty is the “ultimate monopoly of coercion by a set of
political institutions within a defined territory”
  Sovereignty is the primary source of authority in a
society.
 The state has absolute power in forming
laws/regulations
State  The state is the highest institution and is the
Sovereignty absolute decision maker in a society
 External sovereignty = international recognition of
a particular territory/territory
 Internal sovereignty = the power to make laws in a
territory (territory)
  The people's recognition and acceptance of the validity of the
rules of their entire political system and the decisions of their
rulers (Huntington, 1993).
 According to Samuel Huntington, a regime with strong legitimacy
must have three types of legitimacy (1993).
 ideological legitimacy, namely the value proposition of the regime
Internal that must be generally recognized, voluntarily by the people.
Forced ideological indoctrination is difficult to sustain
Sovereignty  procedural legitimacy. The establishment, change and
operationalization of the regime must be controlled and subject to
the consent of citizens. The ruling power is limited by the
constitution and legal procedures.
 performance legitimacy, meaning that a regime supported by the
people must have satisfactory performance for the people
(popular legitimacy)
  the need for newly emerging countries to be recognized by other
countries.

External  Technically, recognition is not a fundamental element of a state,

but it is important for its survival and prosperity.
Sovereignty  Without recognition (non-Recognition) can make a country
isolated from the international community such as the United
Nations
  The existence of a country has certain values that underlie the
purpose of its existence.
 Values play a big role in decision making. The types of
values brought by each policy maker can be realized in policy
making.
 These core state values are usually contained in a country's
State Goals ideology and constitution
 Some of the main values of the country's goals include:
 Security
 Justice/Order
 Prosperity/Wealth/Prosperity
 the 1945 Constitution

protect the Indonesian State protect all

entire
Indonesian Indonesian
nation bloodshed
people's sovereignty based
Goals of the on Pancasila

Indonesian
State of the Human Indonesian
State Security
1945 Security National
Security

Constitution
Smarten up Advancing Public
National Life Welfare Implementing World Peace
based on Independence,
Eternal Peace and Social
Justice
 Difference between State and Government

The state is broader than the government. The state is an inclusive

association that includes all institutions of the public sphere and includes
all members of society (in their capacity as citizens).

The government is part of the state; The state is an enduring, even

permanent, entity. Governments are temporary: they come and go, and
government systems can be reformed;

Government is the means through which state authority is exercised. In

making and implementing state policies, the government is the "brain"
of the state, and this perpetuates the existence of the state;
Difference between State and Government

 The state exercises impersonal authority. Personnel from state

institutions are recruited and trained bureaucratically and are
(always) expected to be politically neutral;
 The state, at least in theory, represents the permanent interests of
society, namely the common good or common good.
 Government, on the other hand, represents partisan sympathies
that hope for power at any given time.
 Who is in power?
The One The Few The Many
Selfish Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy
For whose Interest
benefit?
Common Monarchy Aristocracy Polity
Interest

Form of Government (Aristotle)

 The Form of the State
State
Federal
Plural
State
State
Form of
The State
Centralization
Unitary
Singular
State
Decentralization
 Confederation State is a combination of sovereign
states, where only the government of the sovereign
state has the authority to regulate the area;

The Form of Federation State, where a country is a combination

the Modern of several states, both the central government and
State the state governments have their respective powers;

Unitary State, where in an independent and

sovereign state, there is only one (central)
government that governs the entire region. The
variation: centralized and decentralized systems.
 Unitary

Unitary State
Centralization Decentralization
Form

LOCAL
CENTERED
AUTONOMY
Unitary State

 A unitary state is a form of state in which the highest authority to regulate all
regions is in the hands of the central government.
 Judging from the structure of a unitary state, there is no state (part) in the form of
a state within a state.
 A unitary state with a centralized system, namely a state whose problems are
regulated and managed by the central government, and regions only need to
implement policies from the central government.
 A unitary state with a decentralized system, namely a state that gives freedom to
regions to create and manage their own household affairs in accordance with
regional conditions, needs and characteristics.
 A unitary state with a decentralized system, namely a state that
gives freedom to regions to create and manage their own
household affairs in accordance with regional conditions, needs
and characteristics.

In a decentralized system, the country's territory is divided into

Decentralization central government and regional government. In regional
government there are elements of regional government and
local legislature (such as: DPRD).

In a Unitary State, sovereignty is basically in the hands of the

Central Government, which holds external powers (foreign
policy, defense and fiscal), but also has the authority to manage
all resources owned by the state, including determining regional
scope.
 Central
Government

Unitary
State

Citizen
 Unitary State
Soverignty
(constitutional supremacyl)
Central
Government

Regional
Institutions

Local
Government

Andrew Heywood, 2002, Politics, Houndmills, Basingstoke:

Macmillan, hlm. 165.
Federal State

 In a federal country there are two types of government, namely the

Federal Government and the State Government
 In a federal state, there are affairs managed by the federal
government and there are also affairs managed by the states.
 Affairs managed by the federal government are usually matters of
common interest to all countries, such as international relations,
defense, justice, and monetary matters.
 Examples of federal countries include the United States, Malaysia,
Australia, Canada and the Republic of the United States of Indonesia
in 1949 - 1950.
 CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT

Federal State
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CITIZENS
 Confederation

 Cannot be completely considered as a STATE but more as a Government

(Governance)
 A large country consisting of many regions that have their own government
 It has a very weak central government with little influence over the actions or policies
of member states
 The British Commonwealth of Nations is an example of a confederation that emerged
as a result of decentralization and eventual disintegration
 The Statute of Westminster (1931) stipulates that all members have equal status. The
Declaration of London (1949) allowed members to become republics, recognizing the
British king/queen as the symbolic head of the Commonwealth.
Confederation Central
Government

Local
Government

Citizens
Comparative Form of State

Federal
Republic
Parliamentary
(India)
Federal
Republic Federal
Republic
Presidential
(United States of
America)
Republic
Unitary
Republic
Semi-Presidential
(France)
Unitary
Republic
Unitary
Republic
Presidential
(Indonesia)
Comparative Form of State

Federal
Monarchy
Parliamentary
(Malaysia)
Federal
Monarchy
Federal
Monarchy
Presidential
(-)

Monarchy
Unitary
Monarchy
Parliamentary
(United Kingdom)
Unitary
Monarchy
Unitary
Monarchy

(Saudi Arabia)
Comparative System of Government
Presidential System Parliamentary System

President As Head of State Head of State and

and Head of Government Head of Government differentiated

President is irresponsible Elected Head of Government and

to Parliament responsible to Parliament

The President can’t Head of Government can be

dissolves Parliament overthrown by Parliament

Parliament Cannot overthrow

President except for Head of Government can
Special Reasons dissolve Parliament
regulated by the Constitution
 Voters

choose
Legislator
President
(Representative Council)
(Head of State and
Head of Government)

Presidential assign
System
Legislative Executive
Power Power Cabinet
checks
and
balances lead

Department/
Ministry
Judicative
Power
 Voters

choose
King/President
Legislative (Head of State)
Legislator
Power
(Representative Council)
formally assigned
choose and
Parliamentary can lay off

System Prime Minister

(Head of Government)

assigned

Executive Cabinet
Power
lead

Department/
Bureaucratic
 Voters
choose

Legislator Legislative President

(Dewan Perwakilan) Power (Head of State)

agree and call

Semi- lay off

Presidential Prime Minister

lead
System (Head of Government)
Executive choose
Power
Cabinet

lead

Department/
Ministry
 Comparative System of Government
UK – WESTMINSTER
C O M PA R AT I V E US PRESIDENTIAL FRENCH HYBRID
PA R L I A M E N TA RY

Separately Elected President, Cabinet Prime Minister; PM and Cabinet elected by Separately elected President with strong
nominated by the President and the majority party in the legislature The powers chooses a Cabinet and Prime
Who makes up the confirmed by the legislature Cabinet, or Ministers, are members of the Minister who presides over the legislature.
Executive Branch? legislature. A (The President resides over the Cabinet,
(Cabinet members cannot simultaneously Hereditary Monarch is head of state who cannot be members of the
be members of legislature, and vice-versa) (mostly ceremonial). legislature.)

Can the legislature Legislature cannot remove the President, The legislature dissolves the chief The legislature cannot remove the
remove the executive, except under extreme conditions, and the executive and cabinet through a vote of no President, but can dissolve parliament,
and vice-versa? president cannot dissolve the legislature. confidence, forcing new parliamentary removing the Prime Minister and cabinet.
elections. The President can dissolve the lower
house.

Upper House: Senate Upper: House of Upper: Senate

Lower House: House Lords Lower: National
Bodies involved in the Govt. cabinet departments assist in Lower: House of Assembly
legislative process? drafting bills, but most originate via Commons President; Prime Minister and cabinet
committees in legislature; President can The government (Prime Minister, cabinet appointed by PM who sits in the legislature
veto legislation, which can be overridden and bureaucracy) Occasionally bills (can be MPs).
by 2/3 vote of both houses. referred to select committees for
consultation.

Both Houses Executive and Both Houses, but MPs can’t Executive and both Houses, Appointed
Executive can draft legislation but a introduce bills that affect govt. spending or bodies, such as the Economic and Social
Who Initiates member must introduce it. taxation. Can only amend on technical commission make recommendations on
Legislation? grounds. Executive-initiated bills take drafting legislation. MPs cannot introduce
precedence member bills. any bill that raises or reduces
expenditures. Executive-initiated bills
take precedence over member bills.
Thankyou