23. It was Enlightenment France which, by coining the concept of the nation-state, gave substance to the concept of nation. 14. Become a Study.com member to unlock this This was the conception of nation for the German philosophers. The Assembly recalls that, in its Resolution 1335 (2003), it stated that "the emergence of new and original forms of minority protection, particularly by their kin-states, constitutes a positive trend (…)". In politics and public policy, nationalism is a doctrine whose mission is to protect a nation's right to self-govern and shield fellow residents of a state from global economic and social pressures. A nation is a group of people who see themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit based on shared cultural or historical criteria. - Article 5 of the Constitution of Slovenia also provides that the State “shall maintain concern for autochthonous Slovene national minorities in neighbouring countries and for Slovene emigrants and workers abroad and shall foster their contacts with the homeland. States in which the concepts of “nation”, as an entity that gives identity, and “people”, as a sovereign entity (democratic foundation of the state), exist side by side: 43. 11. 7. In Europe after the Second World War, several states lost not only territory but also large parts of their nations – people who became citizens of the states which occupied the territories where they lived. Earn Transferable Credit & Get your Degree, Get access to this video and our entire Q&A library. Justify your answer. A State is the political unit who has ⦠Poland makes a distinction between national minorities, defined as those which have their own nation states (state minorities), and ethnic minorities, defined as groups which have not their own nation states (stateless minorities). Romania: Article 1 of the constitution provides that � Romania is a (…) indivisible Nation State (…); Article 2 provides that � National sovereignty resides with the Romanian people, who shall exercise it through its representative bodies and by referendum.� and Article 4 that � The State foundation is laid on the unity of the Romanian people. Nation and structure of the state. the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, iii. It is imperative that this support respects the legislation of the States where the minorities concerned live and it is to be recommended that any regulatory act must be negotiated beforehand with the governments of those States. It therefore requests the Committee of Ministers to ask Mr Jean-Claude Juncker to focus in depth on the question of complementarity of policies on protection of national minorities and recognition of their rights in his forthcoming report on relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union. The motion called for clarification of the use of the terms “nation” and “people” and the concept of “national minority” in constitutional and legislative texts and of the relationship between these terms and the definition of citizenship for cultural, linguistic or ethnic minorities in kin-states. 9 Article 11.2: “No one of Spanish birth may be deprived of his nationality”. National minorities and new minorities. It observed in connection with the Hungarian law that “the definition of the concept of ‘nation’ in the preamble to the law could under certain circumstances be interpreted – though this interpretation is not correct – as non-acceptance of the state borders which divided the members of the ‘nation’, notwithstanding the fact that Hungary has ratified several multi- and bilateral instruments containing the principle of respect for the territorial integrity of states, in particular the basic treaties which have entered into force between Hungary and Romania and Slovakia. 5. The use of the concept of nation in law in present-day Europe. They are identified by their religion: Muslims, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Another major obstacle facing us is the untranslatability of certain concepts. It is the sole minority officially recognised in Denmark. Simple translation mistakes cause misunderstandings. 1 See Resolution1335 (2003) and Doc 9744 rev (Rapporteur: Mr Erik Jurgens, Netherlands, SOC). 105. Political realists are often characterised as a-moralists, that any means should be used to uphold the national interest, but a poignant criticism is that the definition of morality is being twisted to assume that acting in oneâs own or oneâs nationâs interests is immoral or amoral at best. c. Does your Constitution refer to the concept of "nation"? The French conception of nation is that of the “community of all citizens enjoying equal rights”, a community of individuals enjoying the same political rights, whatever their origins. In the Constitution of Germany, the term “German people” refers to persons of German citizenship living in the Federal Republic of Germany. Other citizens, in particular those belonging to other religious groups, must declare their membership of one community or the other. Belgium: Article 33 of its constitution provides that “all power emanates from the nation”. This is because the term “nation” is deeply rooted in peoples’ culture and history and incorporates basic elements of their identity. 81. The real question is whether it is possible to satisfy the legitimate interests of states on the one hand and the legitimate interests of ethnic and linguistic minorities on the other, and if so, how. (…) Slovenes not holding Slovene citizenship may enjoy special rights and privileges in Slovenia.”. 7 This provision was discussed and criticised both by the Venice Commission, which, at the time, examined not only the draft amendments to the constitution but also all the drafts of the law on national minorities and the draft amendments thereto, and by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. 70. Aware of the need to clarify the terminology used in constitutions and legislation in force to cover the phenomenon of ethnic, linguistic and cultural links between groups of citizens living in different states, in particular the use of the word "nation" as well as the correlation with a specific historical or political context, the Parliamentary Assembly has considered whether, and how, the concept of “nation” can help to address the question of national minorities and their rights in 21st-century Europe. They stressed, however, that a definition was only of limited interest if the aim is to promote the rights of so-called national minorities. This applies to Andorra, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal and Sweden. A nation may be a body inhabitant in a country united under a single independent government. Neither is this a purely academic exercise. The experts questioned concluded that it was difficult, not to say impossible, to arrive at a common definition of the concept of nation. I consider that both definitions of “nation” are still valid today. In this section, we cover three of the most important terms in political science: Nation: a large group of people linked by a similar culture, language, and history State: a political unit that has sovereignty over a particular piece of land Nation-state: a state that rules over a single nation 86. 51. But the modern writers do not emphasise the racial aspects so much as the psychological and spiritual. 38. These national minorities or communities – often created as a result of changes in state borders –, which represent a constitutive part and a co-founding entity of the nation-state of which their members are subjects as citizens, enjoy their rights in order to preserve, express and foster their national identity, as provided for in Assembly Recommendations 1201 (1993) and 1623 (2003) and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Luxembourg, defines a national minority as “a group of persons who have been settled on its territory for many generations, who have Luxembourg nationality and who have retained distinct characteristics from the ethnic and linguistic point of view”. 5. 7. Some countries lost territory but kept their old cultural and linguistic roots, without confining them within the new borders of the new nation state. Article 11.3: “The state may make dual nationality treaties with the Ibero-American countries and with those which may have had, or have, a special bond with Spain. This analysis would not be complete without a reminder of the following definition, given by the Assembly in its Recommendation 1201 (1993): “the expression ‘‘national minority'' refers to a group of persons in a state who : a. reside on the territory of that state and are citizens thereof ; b. maintain longstanding, firm and lasting ties with that state ; c. display distinctive ethnic, cultural, religious or linguistic characteristics ; d. are sufficiently representative, although smaller in number than the rest of the population of that state or of a region of that state ; e. are motivated by a concern to preserve together that which constitutes their common identity, including their culture, their traditions, their religion or their language.”. The constitution of Hungary refers extensively to the “people” (Article 2: “in the Republic of Hungary supreme power is vested in the people, who exercise their sovereign rights directly and through elected representatives”. The Assembly also notes that because of the way in which the nation-states were formed during the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, as well as because of nation-states’ border changes at the end of the Second World War and of the Cold War, on the territories of almost all the Council of Europe member states there live various groups of people who are at the same time citizens of the same state or civic nation, but who belong to and are part of different cultural nations. 19. 45. Is it necessary to adopt a new definition or do the existing definitions suffice? It observes that the reply from the Committee of Ministers to this recommendation was terse, to say the least. 4. 3. To collect information on the legal situation in the member states, the committee decided to draw up a questionnaire and send it to the national parliamentary delegations. At best, only rough translations are to be found in certain national languages. Such a concept evidently comprises a political dimension and an equally important legal dimension. Since the Second World War (1939-1945) the theory of 'one nation, one state' has become the practical politics with all nations and new nation states have been created after the Second World War. Other countries, such as Albania or Portugal, make no mention of it. In the Spanish Constitution, therefore, the “nation” is equated with the homeland. 101. A nation has also been defined as a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity and particular interests. Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. The constitution of Italy lays down the same principle that “The sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it in the forms and limits of the constitution”. 22. 91. Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Rapporteur: Mr Gy�rgy Frunda, Romania, Group of the European People's Party. There are many countries in which the word “nation” is not understood in the French or German sense of the term. nation definition: 1. a country, especially when thought of as a large group of people living in one area with theirâ¦. It is possible that the question asked – is there an overall, common definition of the concept of nation? In the current state of positive law in Europe, this is generally not the case. Article 2 lays down the principle that “The State of Lithuania shall be created by the Nation. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg (he constitution uses the words � Luxembourger / non-Luxembourger �), Norway, the Netherlands and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Consequently, Germany does not recognise the existence of minorities other than national minorities and ethnic groups of German citizenship. However, while the distinction between those two meanings is still to be identified in some of the Council of Europe member states' constitutions, the general trend of the nation-state’s evolution is towards its transformation depending on the case, from a purely ethnic or ethnocentric state into a civic state and from a purely civic state into a multicultural state where specific rights are recognised not only to physical persons but also to cultural or national communities. The sense of identity as a member of a “nation”, as distinct from the sense of citizenship of a state, is clearly reflected in the constitutions of certain countries: 37. In Resolution 1335 (2003), the Assembly noted in connection with the Hungarian law, which defined the concept of "nation" in its preamble, that to date there was "no common European legal definition of the concept of 'nation'.". I also felt that it would be interesting to know whether member states had any constitutional or legislative provisions drawing a distinction between national (or “traditional”) minorities and the new minorities. 3.1.5. He therefore proposed the following definition of nation: “A nation is a specific political, social, economic and cultural community, often with a common language, culture and history, living in neighbouring territories, with ‘independent’ political institutions and social organisations; it presupposes a politically sovereign people, master of its own territory, with its own economic life and its state or, failing this, which aspires strongly to these things.”. Lithuania : the Preamble of the Constitution is a proclamation on the Lithuanian nation (“The Lithuanian Nation- having created the State of Lithuania many centuries ago,- having based its legal foundations on the Lithuanian Statutes and the Constitutions of the Republic of Lithuania,- having for centuries persistently defended its freedom and independence,- having preserved its spirit, native language, writing, and customs,- embodying the innate right of the human being and the Nation to live and create freely in the land of their fathers and forefathers in the independent State of Lithuania,- fostering national concord in the land of Lithuania (…)”. 94. The concept of nation is more a matter of political ideology. Other member states have recognised national minorities in the context of their accession to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: - Germany recognises as national minorities Danes with German citizenship, Sorbians with German citizenship and Sinti and Roma with German citizenship, and recognises that the Framework Convention will also be applied to the ethnic group of Frisians with German citizenship. The question which remains to be answered is whether there is any need for a common definition. 20. 5.2. 56. This would apply to the Russian Federation, for example. Questionnaire addressed to national delegations. Croatia: The preamble to the Croatian Constitution (entitled “historical foundations”), a lengthy declaration on the foundations, origins and continuity of the Croatian nation, is no doubt the most outstanding example of the use of the concept: “the Republic of Croatia is established as the national state of the Croatian nation and the state of the members of autochthonous national minorities (…). 6. When women won the right to vote after World... Write an essay that explains your understanding of... Is the US a nation state? Political theory is concerned mainly with the foundations of political community and institutions. Furthermore, the problems of translating the term into different languages and those linked to the existence of different legal systems in different countries, in particular the French and English systems, are difficult to resolve. Nation-state definition is - a form of political organization under which a relatively homogeneous people inhabits a sovereign state; especially : a state containing one as opposed to several nationalities. Consequently, less than 10% of states in ⦠The 2003 report on the issue of the preferential treatment of national minorities by the kin-state: the case of the Hungarian law of 19 June 2001 on Hungarians living in neighbouring countries (“Magyars”) looked at the terminology used in constitutions and laws to cover the phenomenon of ethnic, linguistic and cultural ties between groups of citizens within separate states, in particular the use of the word “nation” and the correlation with a specific historical or political context. But we have yet to agree a clear definition of “new minorities”, which is all the more problematical in that there is no common definition of “national minorities”. 46. These rights are not territorial or territorially connected and their recognition and protection must be legally organised both at the level of each nation-state concerned and at the transnational (international) level. The word ânationâ is derived from the Latin term Natus which means born. However, the word “nation” recur throughout the Constitution: “Members of parliament represent the nation (..)” (Article 67) ; ”The president is head of state and represents the unity of the nation “ (Article 87). According to the constitution of Switzerland, the Swiss people and the cantons together form the Swiss Confederation (Federation) and have together adopted the constitution. The Assembly believes it necessary to strengthen recognition of every European citizen's links with his identity, culture, traditions and history, to allow any individual to define himself as a member of a cultural "nation" irrespective of his country of citizenship or the civic nation to which he belongs as a citizen, and, more specifically, to satisfy the growing aspirations of minorities which have a heightened sense of belonging to a certain cultural nation. National interest is the most crucial concept in international relations.It is the key concept in foreign policy as it provides the material based on which foreign policy is made. If not, please indicate the reasons why. Lastly, although it has never dealt explicitly with the concept of “nation” the Venice Commission has done a great deal of work on the subject of nationality. Guibernau (1996, p. 47) has defined the nation as: âa human group conscious of forming a community, sharing a common culture, attached to a clearly demarcated territory, having a common past and a common project for the future and claiming the right to rule itselfâ. Similarly, despite the historic presence of Roma in Denmark, they appear to have been a priori excluded from the protection of the Convention. 108. The First World War and the ensuing peace treaties altered the geography of some nations. 100. In Croatia, the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities defines national minorities as “a group of Croatian citizens whose members traditionally inhabit the territory of the Republic of Croatia, and whose members have ethnic, linguistic, cultural and/or religious characteristics different from other citizens and who are driven by the wish to preserve these characteristics.”. 10 See Resolution 1301 (2002) on the protection of minorities in Belgium and Resolution 1172 (1998) on the situation of the French-speaking population living in the Brussels periphery. Some unitary states, such as Estonia, France, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Turkey establish a clear link between unity and indivisibility of the State with the nation; this link is particularly marked in the case of Croatia. 79. There is an underlying logic to this: the people build the nation, the nation founds the republic, the republic determines the outlines and functioning of the state5. As Mr Jurgens, rapporteur on the preferential treatment of national minorities by the kin-state, observed, there are major differences in the way the word “nation” is used in the different parts of Europe and in the different European languages. This concerns, in particular, persons who have been deported or persecuted on national and political grounds. 88. 77. Conversely, the words used in certain national languages have no suitable translation in English or French, the two official languages of the Council of Europe. These “nations” which lived united within common borders were divided in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, but their feeling of belonging to a “nation” remained very strong, even if the members of the “nation” regarded themselves as loyal citizens of the states within which they now formed a “national” minority, ie a minority belonging to a different “nation” from that of the majority in the country. The constitution of Romania enshrines clearly the concept of the civic nation, composed of all Romanian citizens. After 1947 India became the nation state. – might not have an answer, or might have a negative answer, since the concept is understood differently from one country to another: the same word quite simply has different meanings. The constitution of Turkey is also very strongly influenced by the concept of nation, particularly its preamble, which lays down the fundamental principles governing the Turkish state: “In line with the concept of nationalism and the reforms and principles introduced by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Atat�rk, (…) this Constitution, which affirms the eternal existence of the Turkish nation and motherland and the indivisible unity of the Turkish state, embodies; The understanding of the absolute supremacy of the will of the nation and of the fact that sovereignty is vested fully and unconditionally in the Turkish nation (…). 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