NATION

A nation is a group of people who feel bound by a common language, culture, religion, history, or
ethnicity

A nation is a group of people who share the same culture, language, institutions, religion, and
history—usually a group of people larger than a tribe or community. When a nation of people has
an independent State of their own it is often called a nation-state. The Kurds are a nation without
a State, but France, Germany, and Japan are examples of nation-states.

A nation is a group of people who share the same culture but do not have sovereignty.

Summing up, some of the attributes of nationhood are:

 A common postulated interrelationship - a "blood" bond between members. This blood

relationship may be actual, but more often, it derives from myth.

 A shared cultural heritage. This heritage, and particularly the cultural artifacts (and
sometimes also, institutional structures) that it has created, represents the "patrimony" of
the nation, and is often invested with considerable sentimental value, to the extent that
attacks on it are responded to with violent emotion.

 Linguistic coherence, in the form of one or more languages identified with the national
identity. The more unique or difficult these languages are, the stronger the emotional
attachment to them, as something that must be defended. In the world of mass
telecommunications and the omnipresence of English as a lingua franca, bitter struggles are
taking place all over the world to protect the national languages (most notably, in Iceland and
France).

A sense of identification by members with the nation. The idea of national affiliation is a deep-
rooted one in the human psyche, and members of a nation suffer a very visceral response to any
threat against it, real or perceived.

STATE

A state is a political unit that has sovereignty over a particular piece of land. Sovereignty is the
ultimate power within a territory. So the state has the power to make laws, defend its borders,
and enact policies. The state also exercises a monopoly on the legitimate use of force: No group
within its borders can use force legally without the permission of the state. In the United States,
we use the word state to mean something more akin to the word province (the difference being
that American states have more political autonomy and power than provinces in most other
countries). But political scientists use the word state as a synonym for sovereign governments.
What makes an independent State or a country today?

 Has internationally recognized land and borders even if border disputes exist;
 Has permanent residents;
 Has sovereignty so that no other country has power over its territory;
 Has organized economic activity that regulates foreign and domestic trade and issues
money;
 Has a transportation network for moving goods and people;
 Has an education system;
Has recognition from other independent states