Class 1 | Module 4

Nationhood and State

Author | Ruth Lusterio-Rico, PhD
 Self-Evaluation
What do you already know about nationhood and states
?
What do you want to know more about nationhood and states
?

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

The Nation and the State
Lesson 1
 What is a nation?

The word ‘nation’ comes from the Latin ‘nasci’, which means ‘to be born’. It is often
used interchangeably with words such as ‘country’, ‘state’ or ‘ethnic group’.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

Nation
- a group of people bound by
their shared identity, who are
living within the same
geographical boundary
/Sibika.ph
 What is a nation?
Culturally
Culturally, a nation is a community “bound together by a common language, religion, history and
traditions” (Heywood, 2013, p. 109). Members of a nation taken in this sense form a coherent whole based on a
common set of values, ideals, social norms and practices, and historical experiences. Identification with a nation
sometimes comes with a belief in a common ancestry and the possession of certain physical characteristics (e.g.,
skin color, facial features).

Politically
Politically, a nation is “a group of people who regard themselves as a natural political community”
(Heywood, 2013, P. 109), that is, one that recognizes and is subject to a common set of laws and is governed by
legitimate authority in accordance with those laws. Members of a nation defined along these lines feel that they
are bound together “primarily by shared citizenship, regardless of their cultural, ethnic and other loyalties”
(Heywood, 2013, p. 112).

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 A nation also harbors a subjective or psychological feature, which is somehow
captured in the definition of a nation as a group of people who “believe they belong
together on the basis of a shared identity as a people
(Sodaro, 2001, as cited in Quilop, 2006, p. 2).

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 Nation as a Cultural or Political Entity
There are basically two types of nations which can be identified by using either a cultural or a political perspective.

ethnocultural civic nation

(or ethnic) nation
is one in which its members are bound together as a
is one in which the sense of community among its
community by a commitment to uphold a common set of
members is built on belief in a common ancestry, a
civic and political institutions and liberal values such as
common language, and shared cultural traditions
liberty, equality, and the rule of law. In practical terms, what
and practices. What binds the people in an
binds members in a civic nation, more than a shared ethnicity
ethnocultural nation are common ethnic and cultural
and culture, are laws, institutions, values, and collective goals to
attributes.
which they pledge their allegiance.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

State
- political group characterized
by sovereignty over a territory
and authority over institutions
/Sibika.ph
What is a State?
It is defined as “a political association that establishes
sovereign jurisdiction within defined territorial borders,
and exercises authority through a set of permanent
institutions.” The state is broader than the government, as
it includes all public institutions that are “responsible
for the collective organization of communal life and are
funded at the public’s expense” (Heywood, 2013, p. 57).

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 A state can be seen to have the following features
(Heywood, 2013, pp. 57-58):

1. The state is sovereign. It exercises absolute and unrestricted power,

in that it stands above all other associations and groups in society.
2. State institutions are recognizably ‘public’, in contrast to the
‘private’ institutions of civil society. Public bodies are responsible for
making and enforcing collective decisions, while private bodies, such
as families, private businesses and trade unions, exist to satisfy
individual interests.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 A state can be seen to have the following features
(Heywood, 2013, pp. 57-58):

3. The state is an exercise in legitimation. The decisions of the state are

usually (although not necessarily) accepted as binding on the members
of society because, it is claimed, they are made in the public interest, or
for common good; the state supposedly reflects the permanent interests
of society.
4. The state is an instrument of domination. State authority is backed
up by coercion; the state must have the capacity to ensure that its laws
are obeyed and that transgressors are punished. For Max Weber, the
state was defined by its monopoly of the means of ‘legitimate
violence’.
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 A state can be seen to have the following features
(Heywood, 2013, pp. 57-58):

5. The state is a territorial association. The jurisdiction of the state is

geographically defined, and it encompasses all those who live within
the state’s borders, whether they are citizens or non-citizens.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 From an international perspective, the basic
criteria for statehood is specified in Oppenheim’s
International Law as follows:
A state proper is in existence when a people is settled in a territory under its own
sovereign government. There are therefore four conditions which must obtain for the
existence of a state.

People Sovereign
people is an aggregate of
individuals who live together as a Territory Government government
one or more persons who
community though they may belong in which the people is supreme authority… legal
act for the people and
to different races or creeds or settled authority which is not in law
govern according to the
cultures, or be of a different colour. dependent on any other earthly
law of the land
authority
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 From an international perspective, the basic
criteria for statehood is specified in Oppenheim’s
International Law as follows:
A state proper is in existence when a people is settled in a territory under its own
sovereign government. There are therefore four conditions which must obtain for the
existence of a state.

People
people is an aggregate of individuals who live together as a community
though they may belong to different races or creeds or cultures, or be
of 1a| Module
Class different
41 colour. /Sibika.ph
 From an international perspective, the basic
criteria for statehood is specified in Oppenheim’s
International Law as follows:
A state proper is in existence when a people is settled in a territory under its own
sovereign government. There are therefore four conditions which must obtain for the
existence of a state.

Territory
in which the people is settled
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 From an international perspective, the basic
criteria for statehood is specified in Oppenheim’s
International Law as follows:
A state proper is in existence when a people is settled in a territory under its own
sovereign government. There are therefore four conditions which must obtain for the
existence of a state.

Government
one or more persons who act for the people and govern according to the law of the
land
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 From an international perspective, the basic
criteria for statehood is specified in Oppenheim’s
International Law as follows:
A state proper is in existence when a people is settled in a territory under its own
sovereign government. There are therefore four conditions which must obtain for the
existence of a state.

Sovereign government
supreme authority… legal authority which is not in law dependent on
any other earthly authority
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 Nation-state

When the two concepts of “nation” and “state” are combined, the result is the
concept of the “nation-state”, which may be defined as a political community or
association whose members consider themselves as belonging to a single nation.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 Nationalism
Nationalism, therefore, is the sense of community and fellowship that members
of a nation experience. To be nationalistic evokes from the people a sense of pride
and loyalty to a nation, and, according to Durkheim (1915), a common desire to
defend and sustain the nation (p. 90).

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

Nationalism
- sentiment of unified loyalty
towards the nation

/Sibika.ph
 Synchronous Activity

Activity: Nation-building
Instructions. This activity is designed to introduce students to the lesson on Nations and States and to guide their thinking
towards the concept of the nation and nationalism.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 Asynchronous Activity

Activity: Nations vs Countries

Instructions. This activity aims to introduce the students to the basic concepts surrounding the topic of
nations and states.

Guide Questions:
1. What is the difference between ‘nations’ and
‘countries’?
2. Do you think you have an obligation or responsibility to
your country? Why or why not?
3. How do nations gain the right to govern themselves?

“Nations vs Countries” at your own time. https://youtu.be/IxXC_iCFYSs

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

The Filipino Nation and the Philippine State
Lesson 2
 Lesson Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the student is expected to be able to:
● Explain the national identity of the Philippines; and
● Explain the civic aspect of the Philippines as a nation.

Key Concepts
● Nationhood - status of belongingness to a nation
● Ilustrados - members of the educated class that introduced ideals of
nationalism

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 Idea of Nationhood

Image Source:First Mass at Limasawa by Carlos “Botong” Francisco Image Source: ResearchGate

It was only towards the end of the Spanish colonial period when the idea of a Filipino nation was conceived in the
minds of the illustrados (“learned” or “enlightened ones”). It was in the late 19th century when men like Jose
Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce and other members of the educated class began to imagine the native
inhabitants of las Islas Filipinas (indios to the Spaniards) as Filipino, a people possessing a collective history,
culture, character, and genius distinct from those of their Spanish colonial masters.

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph

 Idea of Nationhood

Image Source: Britannica Encyclopedia

The effort to gain independence was brought to naught, however, by the

coming of the Americans. Having won the war against Spain, the United
States, through the Treaty of Paris, took possession of the Philippines in
exchange for $20,000,000. The Americans promised to bring democracy
and enlightened self-rule to the nation as they ironically dismantled the
Aguinaldo government.
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 Philippine Commonwealth

Image Source: Official Gazette

Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 The Philippines as a Civic Nation
View the interactive
ethnolinguistic map here!

Image Source: Research Gate

Because of the Philippines’ multicultural character, Filipino nationhood cannot be

based on ethnocultural homogeneity. Hence, the Filipino nation can only take the
form of a civic nation—one in which Filipinos form a single nation via the
commitment to pursue common goals and uphold a common set of civic and
political
Class 1 | Module 41
institutions and values. /Sibika.ph
 The Philippines as a Civic Nation

The state, however, could act as an agent of nation building through a civic education
program that would aim to foster a sense of the common good that encompasses not just one’s
immediate family, town, or province, but the entire country. It also ought to seek to give all
citizens “a sense of belongingness in a national community that provides opportunities to
attain economic well-being, participation in the national policy-making process, and an
understanding and appreciation of varied cultural identities and practices” (Quilop, 2006,
p. 6).
Class 1 | Module 41 /Sibika.ph
 Class 1 | Module 4

Nationhood and State

Author | Ruth Lusterio-Rico, PhD